Reyna's Party
by NEIWIS
Summary: Spoilers for Blood of Olympus. Planning a party was hard enough. Planning a party behind a certain praetor's back was even harder. But, Annabeth has promised herself that Reyna would have a great party. All Annabeth needs is to focus eight other demigods and hope the guest of honor makes it to the party in one piece. Part one of the Ultionem trilogy.
1. I

**Disclaimer: I do not own any characters or locations.**

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><p>Annabeth did not understand why planning a birthday party was so hard. They had defeated Gaea for Zeus's sake. One little birthday party should not have been so difficult. Unfortunately, nine demigods with ADHD did not mix well with the words focus or patience.<p>

"How does this work Annabeth?" Percy asked staring at the instructions for the cake mix. Annabeth sighed and walked towards Percy. She leaned on him looking at the box. The two had been inseparable since their adventure in Tartaraus.

Nightmares had plagued them every night they were alone. Annabeth had taken to sneaking into Percy's cabin every night just to lay with him. She managed to make it back to her cabin before most of her siblings woke up. They knew what she was doing, but they understood her situation enough to realize she would not make it alone.

"It seems like it is in some foreign language," Jason commented as he walked up behind them. He dropped bags of decorations and supplies on the table. Annabeth gently pushed off of Percy pulling out some of the streamers. She examined the purple streamers silently.

"Are these good?" Jason asked pushing up his glasses.

Annabeth nodded looking around the apartment. The apartment seemed hollow since there was only a small amount of furniture in it. There was a couch in the middle of the living room that had a small coffee table next to it. The couch faced a wall as if the owner sat there and contemplated life. The kitchen was completely clean other than the bags that Jason had brought in.

"Jason, can you get Piper, Hazel, and Frank? Ask them to start on the decorations. Nico is getting the plates and silverware. Percy and I will deal with the cake. Leo is getting all the food ready. He may need you to help him carry the food in," Annabeth said taking a deep breath as she finished.

Jason blinked at her but slowly nodded. He hurried out as another figure walked in. Annabeth quickly turned but relaxed seeing Hylla. The queen of the Amazons smiled at her as she walked towards them.

"Where's my sister?" Hylla asked leaning on the counter.

"Reyna, hopefully, is still delivering the weapons to Camp Half-Blood," Annabeth said. Hylla nodded, and her eyes widened. She dove behind Annabeth who turned around to see an Iris message.

The Iris message showed a view of the cabins that belonged to Camp Half-Blood. Chiron stepped into view. He watched Hylla with a look of amusement. Chiron was in his centaur form and holding one of the newly delivered bows. Hylla looked up and grumbled something. She stood brushing herself off.

"Hello Chiron," Annabeth greeted as she hid a smile. They all knew how much Hylla wanted to surprise her sister. If Reyna had sent the Iris message, she would have seen Hylla instantly.

"Reyna just left," Chiron said a twinkle of amusement in his eyes. Chiron knew all about their plans. He promised to keep them updated and stall Reyna if he had to.

"Thank you Chiron," Annabeth said. "How are the weapons?"

"The weapons are perfect; however, our praetor seemed quite stressed," Chiron observed.

"She's been working hard," Hylla said crossing her arms. "A little too hard from what I hear."

It was true. Reyna had spent months trying to restore the legion back to what it had been. Those Ocatavion had reinstated were given a chance to show why they should stay. Those that were given a second chance had to prove themselves quickly. The ones that were deemed unworthy had to leave.

Some left peacefully. Others worked together to try to overthrow Reyna and Frank. The rebellion lasted only a few hours before the conspirators were put down. Reyna had then thrown herself into making sure the two camps were back up to full strength.

"She's been training everyday too," Percy added as he stretched. Hylla made a small noise in the back of her throat that could have been a growl. Chiron looked behind him towards a gathering crowd.

"I must make sure the Ares and Aprohodite cabins stay out of each other's throats. I wish you the best of luck with the party," Chiron sighed. The three demigods nodded. Chiron waved his hand through the message cutting the connection.

Percy glanced at Hylla. He pulled out the eggs and milk they would need for the cake. Hylla watched the two of them before taking a quick tour of the apartment. Annabeth helped Percy set out the supplies.

Annabeth ran into plenty of bumps planning the party. She made sure there were no war games or any other important events going on that day. It took a few threats and convincing behind Reyna's back to get all the centurions on board. Reyna also happened to be an obstacle.

Annabeth casually mentioned the day before that Reyna should take the weapons to Camp Half-Blood. Reyna muttered something about needing to stay at the camp and watch over her campers. Frank backed Annabeth up saying Reyna could use the break. Reyna looked like she was going to skewer them with the spear she had been practicing with; however, she finally relented.

Reyna had left early in the morning planning on taking a Pegasus to carry a chariot full of weapons. Percy convinced the Pegasus to take a break before Reyna managed to arrive at the stalls. That forced Reyna to take a van. Annabeth regretted the decision the moment she saw the mix of anger and annoyance in Reyna's eyes. She had forced herself to push it aside and focus on the day ahead.

"What else needs to happen?" Hylla asked walking towards them. Annabeth opened her mouth, but the door opened as Nico walked in. Nico waved placing plates and a bag of silverware on the table. He held a present in his hands.

"Nico finished his job, so we are just down to cake, food, and decorations," Annabeth said running through a mental checklist.

"What can I do?" Hylla asked.

"Help with the cake?" Percy asked searching the kitchen for a mixing bowl. Nico walked towards a cabinet and pulled out the mixing bowl. He tossed it to Percy.

"Where are we putting the gifts?" Nico questioned.

"That's what I forgot," Annabeth hissed. She jolted upward like she had been shocked. Nico shot them a look that asked if they were serious. "I was so focused on planning for the party that I didn't think about a gift."

"You have time," Nico reassured. He laid a gift that looked suspiciously like a sword on the table.

"What does Reyna even like?" Percy asked.

"I would not suggest a guinea pig," Hylla muttered dryly. She winked at Annabeth a second later.

"Just get her what you think she would like," Nico said. He seemed much happier ever since he had been dating Will Solace. The two were inseparable for six days of the week. The seventh day was spent with Reyna who had become like a sister to Nico.

"So, I should get her a spear then?" Percy asked.

"Oh seaweed brain," Annabeth said kissing his cheek. Percy's eyes suddenly lit up.

"I know exactly what to get!" Percy exclaimed. He ran out before anyone could stop him. Annabeth watched him go and sighed.

"I just need a size. I have a nice, orange jumpsuit all picked out for him," Hylla joked. She helped Annabeth pour all the supplies for the cake into the mixing bowl. "Just say the word."

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><p><strong>It's been awhile since I've written fanfiction and the first time I've written one for Percy Jackson. Thank you for reading. I hope you enjoyed.<strong>


	2. II

**Thank you for all the follows, favorites, and reviews.  
><strong>

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><p>Even before the van broke down, Reyna was having a bad day. Given her luck that week, she should have suspected something like this would happen. Reyna banged her fist against the steering wheel. The week was becoming crappier by the second.<p>

It started with the lack of sleep. She did not always sleep peacefully, but she had found a way to control her dreams. This week happened to be an exception. Anytime she tried to control her dreams, she woke with a beating heart and shallow breath. The only way to sleep was to endure the nightmares which left her cranky in the morning.

"It is always this month, every year," Reyna muttered to no one in particular. She heard Aurum and Argentum rise as they sensed her discomfort. She quietly opened the door and stepped out of the van. Reyna took a moment to examine her surroundings.

The road she stood on was a long strip of asphalt that had been carved through a forest. Camp Half-Blood was only a few miles away. The forest seemed to surround her on all sides. Her two dogs jumped out and stayed by her side.

Turning towards the van, Reyna sighed deeply and tried to think of a plan. She could walk back to Camp Half-Blood, but storm clouds were gathering overhead. She enjoyed the rain but really did not feel like getting soaked by it. The van looked busted; however, she could try to fix it.

Reyna's decision was made for her. Aurum barked loudly as Argentum growled. Reyna turned and dove at the last second. A boulder slammed into the side of the van where she had been standing. The boulder knocked the van back by a few feet also causing it to turn on its side.

Reyna scrambled up grabbing the dagger from her belt. Her javelin and shield were still in the van. Four Laistrygonian giants stepped out of the tree line. Two held large, heavy clubs that would probably break a few bones. One held a boulder in its heavily tattooed arms. A fourth stood farther back.

The fourth one immediately became a target. Intelligence shown in his eyes that promised he was dangerous. He held no weapon, but Reyna could guess he was the one who had thrown the boulder.

"Praetor," the fourth growled. Reyna glared gripping her dagger. It would not do much to harm the Laistrygonian unless she got close. She needed to get her javelin from the van. The two Laistrygonians with clubs charged her.

Time slowed down, and Reyna ran to meet the giants. She rolled under the swing of one turning as she stood. She jumped back to avoid the second one's club. Aurum and Argentum jumped on the first giant who Reyna decided to call ugly one.

Ugly two, who was about to bash her brains in while she was distracted, found Reyna was no longer there. She slipped around him and stabbed her dagger into his back. Reyna grabbed his arm and pulled herself up using the dagger. She gripped the Laistrygonian's shoulder and pulled out the dagger before stabbing ugly two in his neck.

Ugly two disintegrated, and Reyna jumped from him throwing her dagger at ugly one. Ugly one threw Aurum from his arm before the dagger sunk into his chest. Reyna glanced at Aurum concerned before forcing herself to focus.

"Argentum, protect me!" Reyna yelled and turned her back to the fight. She ran towards the overturned van and jumped grabbing the edge. She pulled herself up and stuck her arm inside the window. Her javelin was lying against the seat just out of her reach.

"Not now," Reyna hissed glancing back. The Laistrygonian with the boulder seemed to sneer at her before throwing the boulder at Argentum. Reyna stared as the boulder slammed into the leaping Argentum. Reyna saw red as her dog hit the ground and did not move.

Reyna gripped the broken window and dropped into the van. She scooped her shield up and slung it across her back. After grabbing her javelin, the daughter of Bellona pulled herself out of the van. Reyna, who was in a crouched position, barely had enough time to stand before a boulder slammed into her. She hit the ground hard, and her head cracked against it.

"Bring me the praetor," the leader of the Laistrygonians commanded. Reyna, turning on her side, grabbed her javelin trying to get her bearings. There was the heavy thud of footsteps. Reyna gripped her javelin and glanced up. The boulder throwing Laistrygonian stood over her. He reached down only for Reyna to roll away.

Reyna stood and stumbled backwards feeling dizzy. She grabbed her shield hearing the leader of the Laistrygonians approach her from behind. Reyna turned and brought up her shield as the Laistrygonian slammed a club into her. Reyna gritted her teeth stumbling back. The shield took the full force of the blow.

Her head was pounding. She was surrounded on both sides. There was no way she was going to win the fight in her current state unless she took the time to think of a plan.

"Give in praetor," the leader of the Laistrygonians commanded. He lifted the iron club he had taken from one of his dead allies.

"Who sent you?" Reyna questioned glancing behind her. The boulder throwing Laistrygonian had backed off. Reyna frowned and slowly turned her head back to the other Laistrygonian which was her big mistake. The leader of the Laistrygonians swung his club at Reyna. She brought her crumpled shield up to protect her head only to feel an explosion of pain in her knee.

With a cry of pain, Reyna fell to the ground. The lead Laistrygonian raised his club and brought it down directly on her chest. Reyna brought her shield to protect herself. The shield bent even more under the iron club. Pain shot through Reyna's arm.

"Gaea had specific instructions for the seven before she was forced back to sleep. She had even more specifics instructions for you," the Laistrygonian sneered. Reyna's hand drifted towards her javelin. The Laistrygonian lifted his club for a third time. Reyna turned towards him throwing her javelin with all her might.

The javelin tore through the lead Laistrygonian's neck. He made a choking noise dropping the club. Reyna brought her cloak over herself, and the club bounced harmlessly off of it. There was a loud bark, and Aurum slammed into the final Laistrygonian.

Reyna painfully crawled towards her javelin and gripped it. Aurum yelped as he was thrown near her. The final Laistrygonian walked towards her. He bent down to pick up the iron club. It proved to be the final thing he would as Reyna's javelin tore through him.

Aurum stood and moved to her side. He nudged her arm and whimpered softly. Reyna laid her head back and placed a hand on Aurum's head. She felt Argentum nudge her other arm. Both sat by her protectively.

"That was fun," Reyna muttered. She sat up scooting towards her fallen weapon. Wiping the monster dust off of her javelin, Reyna examined her leg. Her kneecap looked like it had been knocked out of place. Walking would not be fun.

Reyna slowly scooted towards the van. She placed the blunt end of her javelin on the ground and slowly stood. Reyna, leaning on the van, grunted in pain. All she needed to do was get back to Camp Half-Blood. Her dogs moved next to her and stared up expectantly.

"Praetor!" a woman's voice called. Reyna slowly looked up. She saw two women walking towards her. They were wearing black jumpsuits and both had swords at their side.

"Who are you?" Reyna asked slowly bringing her javelin up in a defensive stance. She noticed a figure standing in the tree line They were holding a bow.

"I'm Lulu. That is Doris," the younger of the two answered. She nudged the woman next to her who must have been Doris. Lulu smiled at Reyna while Doris scanned the perimeter.

"Amazons?" Reyna asked trying to ignore the throbbing in the back of her head. She probably had a concussion.

"Yes. Are you Praetor Ramirez? Hylla's sister?" Lulu asked as if looking for confirmation. Reyna nodded once. Doris' hand casually drifted to her belt.

"Did Hylla send you to find me?" Reyna asked. She tightened her grip on her weapon.

"Of course," Lulu answered. Argentum growled, and Reyna immediately tensed. Her dogs knew better than to attack if she was at a disadvantage. Lulu glanced at Reyna's dogs. "Well, Hylla did not send us exactly."

"Then who sent you?" Reyna demanded forcing her voice to stay strong. Her instincts told her to run, her warrior blood demanded she fight, and her body asked how she was suppose to do any of those things.

"The true queen of the Amazons: Otrera," Lulu said. She unsheathed her sword as did Doris.

"Hylla may have killed Otrera twice in a row, but she is not a true queen. A true queen would have destroyed your pathetic camp!" Doris sneered.

"Hylla formed a beneficial alliance between the Romans and Amazons. We may have fought each other in the past but so did the Greeks and Romans. Can you not see past Otrera and her old ways to understand this is for the better?" Reyna asked.

"I can look past my desire to kill you now and realize that it would be better for your sister to witness your execution," Doris spat.

"Otrera is dead and so are her ideals. Back off, and you will not have to join her," Reyna growled. Doris and Lulu glanced at each other, but they both nodded as if coming to an agreement.

"I am sure that your sister will miss you," Lulu said pointing her sword towards Reyna. "But, be happy. Your death will be nowhere near as painful as your sister's."


	3. III

**Thank you for all the favorites, follows, and reviews.  
><strong>

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><p>"You bought those?" Annabeth questioned rubbing her temples. Jason glanced at Piper with a look that asked if he had done something wrong. Piper quietly picked up the champagne popper examining it.<p>

"What is wrong with those? The guy at the store told us they are great for parties," Jason said frowning. Annabeth gave Piper a look. Piper's eyes widened as she understood. Jason looked at them still confused.

"Jason," Piper said gently. "Reyna is going to walk into her house with the lights turned off. It will be pitch black. Percy is going to turn on the lights as we all yell surprise. Do you see where this is going?" Piper wondered.

"She will probably be so surprised that we might find a dagger flying at one of our heads," Jason guessed. Piper nodded. "And, the champagne poppers will only surprise her more because they are a little loud. That means her dogs will probably attack us," Jason finished. Piper nodded again.

"Nobody likes a dagger flying at their head. That is why I will be standing directly in front of the door," Hylla said walking towards them with bowls in her hands. She placed them on the table.

"Leo should finish with grocery shopping soon," Annabeth concluded reviewing her mental checklist.

"I will meet up with him. I can fly the groceries to the ground. Then, Leo and I can carry them here," Jason said. The Romans were still a little jumpy around Festus since he was the figurehead of the ship Leo had unwillingly fired upon Camp Jupiter with.

"Hazel and Frank will arrive soon. Frank had some praetor duties to deal with. I think it was something to do with the upcoming war games," Piper added as she looked around the apartment.

Annabeth nodded and heard a knock. Percy opened the door and stepped into the house smiling. He held a small blue box.

"Did anyone bring wrapping paper?" Percy asked.

"I brought some," Nico replied from behind Percy. Percy jumped and looked at him. Nico held out purple wrapping paper and tape. Percy thanked him taking it.

Annabeth glanced at Jason who gave a small wave. He kissed Piper's cheek and walked out. Piper started to lay out all the party supplies. Nico and Hylla helped her. Percy went to work on wrapping the gift he had brought.

"How are the Amazons?" Piper questioned trying to make conversation. Hylla glanced at her and smiled slightly.

"The Amazons are doing well," Hylla responded. She frowned as if she remembered something unpleasant. "Our only problem was a few Amazons who thought Otrera would have been a better ruler than me. They were going to rebel before realizing they were outnumbered. The five Amazons fled. I have not wasted the resources to hunt them down."

"Are you worried they might try something?" Piper asked.

"No," Hylla replied.

"They would be idiots to try," Nico muttered. Hylla smiled as if she liked the answer. She picked up a party hat and smirked.

"How are you going to convince Reyna to wear that?" Percy wondered.

"Percy, has your mother ever told your friends embarrassing stories about you as a baby?" Hylla asked. Annabeth laughed at the memory. Percy blushed slightly and cleared his throat.

"Peryc's mother told Thalia and I every embarrassing story she could about Percy," Annabeth explained. She remembered the look on Percy's face that asked if he could bury himself in the snow.

"I took care of Reyna when she was a baby. I have plenty of embarrassing stories I can share if she is reluctant," Hylla said.

"I think we need to hear some," Piper grinned.

"First, we need to finalize our plan," Annabeth interrupted.

"The plan is simple, Annabeth." Percy said laying an arm around her. "Hylla, Nico, Piper, and I will be decorating the apartment. Then, we can decide who will decorate the cake."

"I will decorate it," Annabeth promised looking at him. Percy smiled and kissed her.

"Leo and Jason can handle getting the food. Frank and Hazel should arrive before the food. They can help us carry everything in and put up anymore decorations," Percy reassured. Annabeth smiled looking at him.

"What is a piragua?" Piper asked Hylla glancing at the list Annabeth had made. The list consisted of the food that was going to be served.

"It is shaved ice that is shaped like a pyramid. Then, you put a fruit syrup over it," Hylla replied.

"So, it's a snow cone?" Percy asked. Hylla glared at him. Percy looked away and focused on a nice corner.

Nico looked behind Annabeth and pointed. Annabeth turned and looked at an Iris message. Leo wathed her with a nervous smile.

It was the same smile Leo had used when he dropped into the middle of a game of capture the flag. Everyone had been so shocked that they literally froze in place. Leo just smiled and waved before being bombarded with questions.

That day also marked one of the few times the Aphrodite cabin had won capture the flag for their team. Drew, Piper's second in command, swooped up the flag that Percy had dropped in shock. He had been only a few feet from the boundary. Drew crossed the boundary while everyone was busy and distracted.

Leo had quickly told his story before being equally hugged and punched by Percy, Annabeth, Jason, and Piper. Annabeth had learned that bad things happened when Leo smiled like that. She sighed deeply readying herself for anything.

"What's wrong Leo?" Annabeth asked.

"It might have rained pizza over California," Leo said. Annabeth gave him a glare that would have made Cerberus whimper. Leo glanced away. "I am not sure what happened. I laid the pizza boxes behind me and turned back to give Festus instructions. The pizza boxes mysteriously disappeared."

"How do you lose pizza?" Annabeth demanded. She could hear snickers behind her but ignored them.

"You can always buy food in New Rome," Piper reassured laying a hand on Annabeth's shoulder.

"I can go with you," Hylla volunteered. Annabeth nodded.

"What about us?" Percy asked.

"I will stay here and make sure the boys do not mess anything up. Well, I will make sure Percy does not," Piper joked.

"Hey!" Percy complained. Annabeth kissed his cheek and walked towards Hylla. The queen of the Amazons glanced around the room and met Piper's eyes. Hylla gave Piper a look that said she was putting her trust in her.

Annabeth held the door open. Hylla gave her a small nod and walked out. Annabeth followed her. Hylla suddenly tensed.

"What's wrong?" Annabeth asked automatically scanning for threats.

"I don't know. It's just a feeling like Reyna is in danger," Hylla replied. "Our mother gave Reyna two dogs. I received spidey senses that allow me to know when my little sister is in danger."

Annabeth couldn't identify Hylla's tone. She narrowed it down to either bitterness or anger.

"Is she in danger?" Annabeth questioned.

"No. I have been getting a lot of false alarms lately. What is the point of being able to tell if Reyna is in danger if I cannot help her?" Hylla muttered. She tensed again.

"Are you sure?" Annabeth asked glancing at Hylla in concern. The queen of the Amazons nodded and relaxed.

"It's probably nothing," Hylla said though she did not sound so sure.

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><p><strong>I hope you enjoyed.<strong>


	4. IV

**Thank you for the follows, favorites, and reviews.  
><strong>

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><p>Reyna wished she could say that she fought off the rogue Amazons. She wished she could say Aurum and Argentum had attacked Doris while she incapacitated Lulu. The truth was not so kind.<p>

Reyna had stepped forward and went to sweep Lulu's legs out from under her with her javelin. She remembered seeing Aurum jump at Doris who sidestepped. Aurum yelped which caused Reyna to turn her attention towards him. She growled seeing an arrow in his side.

Another arrow flew at her face. Reyna's attention turned to the archer in the tree line before instincts told her to jump back. She did so without hesitation and felt the tip of Lulu's sword cut into her neck.

The cut was not terribly deep, but it caused Reyna to tense. She mentally chided herself for getting distracted again. She was terrified to lose Aurum or Argentum after what had happened to Scipio. The two dogs had been her best friends for years.

Reyna blocked Lulu's sword glancing at Doris. Argentum had jumped on Doris and slammed her into the ground. Argentum's razor sharp teeth were inches from Doris' neck.

"Focus," Reyna muttered, and she brought her gaze back to Lulu. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw another arrow flying towards her. Reyna pushed Lulu back with her javelin. She decided to sidestep the arrow but felt Lulu kick her right in her injured knee.

Reyna's knee buckled, and Lulu shoved her back. Reyna fell back into the van, and her head bounced off of it. She groaned sliding down the van. Her head started pounding.

Lulu smirked and kicked Reyna's javelin away. Argentum jumped off of Doris moving to his owner's side.

"Get Aurum, leave," Reyna whispered in Argentum's ear. Argentum nudged her head with his but slowly backed away. Doris glared at Argentum who ran to his brother's side.

"How cute," Doris spat.

"Leave them alone," Reyna groaned. She slowly got up leaning on the van. "They won't bother you."

"Shut up praetor," Lulu commanded. She shoved her sword in Reyna's face. Their eyes met. Lulu placed the sword to Reyna's throat. Doris watched Reyna who remained unflinching.

"Looks like our little praetor fears nothing," the archer commented as she walked towards them. The archer smirked, and Lulu lowered her sword.

The daughter of Bellona watched them trying to think of a plan. She glanced at the archer who had turned to Doris. Doris and the archer were two feet apart. Lulu was three feet from them.

Reyna made her move. She shoved Doris into the archer, and they tumbled to the ground. Reyna punched Lulu in the face. Lulu fell back in surprise.

With a grunt, Reyna dove for her weapon and scooped it up. Despite the crippling pain in her knee, she turned and threw the javelin. The archer had raised her bow. Reyna's javelin tore right through the bow and caught the archer in the chest.

Reyna moved forward but was tackled from the side. Lulu pinned Reyna placing her sword to her throat. Lulu growled and placed the tip of her sword to Reyna's face.

"Just in case you do escape," Lulu spat moving the tip of her sword against Reyna's eyebrow. She cut deeply into the area and smirked. "There is something to remember me by."

Reyna glared half focused on Lulu. Her mind kicked into overdrive. Lulu was focused on her. Doris only gave the archer half a glance before focusing back on Reyna. The rogue Amazons did not care for each other, or the archer was an outsider.

"Your friend is bleeding to death," Reyna noted. Lulu glared and lifted her sword. Doris handed Lulu rope. It was not long before Reyna's hands were tied in front of her. Doris pulled Reyna to her feet and shoved her forward.

"Walk," Doris commanded. Reyna glanced back at the archer. The archer was pale, and blood was covering her chest. The javelin was still embedded in her chest.

"You are going to leave a comrade for dead?" Reyna questioned. She stopped walking trying to stall. She felt a small amount of blood trickle down her face.

"I told you to walk!" Doris hissed. Reyna turned towards Doris and received a punch in the face for her efforts. She stumbled back. Doris slammed the hilt of her sword into the wound above Reyna's eye. The daughter of Bellona fell backwards.

"We need her alive, for now," Lulu said. Doris sheathed her sword but still looked unhappy. Reyna slowly turned on her side. She knew she could not take any more blows to the head.

"I want you to listen closely praetor," Doris hissed kneeling next to Reyna. She grabbed Reyna's face. "I am going to pull you to your feet. You will walk ahead of me and will not try anything. If you do, I swear on the River Styx that I will beat you within an inch of your life. Then, I will Iris message your sister and force her to watch as I execute you as painfully as possible."

Reyna nodded once to show she understood. Doris pulled her up and shoved her forward again. Reyna stumbled, and her knee felt like it was going to give out. She took a deep breath and started to walk forward.

Doris gave her clear instructions on where to go. Reyna followed them without a fight. Doris smirked thinking she had scared Reyna into submission. Reyna was actually lost in thought.

Reyna's mind went on autopilot as she assessed herself and her surroundings. Pain shot through her knee with every step she took. Blood was starting to trickle into her eye. She had a headache and was dizzy.

Doris was leading her farther into the forest. Lulu glanced at Reyna every so often. Reyna managed to keep her gaze ahead.

It was a long time before Reyna stumbled into a clearing. Two girls were sitting around a campfire. They both had on black jackets over their jumpsuits. Reyna focused on the one with a large knife.

The girl was about eighteen. She had dark brown hair and cruel brown eyes. The girl looked up and instantly stood.

"Where is Kallie?" the girl demanded as she walked towards them.

"Vera, I'm so sorry. The praetor attacked us before we had a chance to react," Doris said. The girl, Vera, turned towards Reyna. Vera studied her for a long time with anger and sadness.

"You killed my sister?" Vera asked tensed. Reyna nodded.

"Your friends did not seem so concerned," Reyna said, but Vera did not hear her. The girl seemed like she was in a world of her own.

Reyna had no time to react as she was tackled to the ground. Vera used one hand to pin Reyna's arms above her head. She raised her other fist glaring hatefully at Reyna.

"The praetor killed Kallie?" the fourth girl asked walking towards Lulu and Doris. She sounded doubtful.

"Of course, Candice," Lulu said gently. She placed a hand on Candice's shoulder moving some of the young girl's blonde hair out of the way. Candice looked up with her big, brown eyes and smiled sadly.

"I liked Kallie," Candice mumbled. She went to glance back at Vera, but Lulu stopped her.

"Can you start sorting out the crates that we brought?" Lulu asked. Candice nodded and jogged away from the clearing.

"Cute kid," Doris muttered glancing back at Vera. Doris winced as Vera's fist made contact with Reyna's face once again.

"She is only ten," Lulu sighed.

"Are you regretting leaving?" Doris asked. There was an edge to her voice.

"No!" Lulu exclaimed. She gulped under Doris' glare. "I am just sad that she is this young and deemed a traitor. She can't even fight that well."

Doris grunted and stared her down. Lulu shifted. Doris finally made a motion for her to go help Candice. Doris turned hearing Vera's footsteps.

"I want that praetor to suffer," Vera spat. She looked at her bloody hands and cleaned them on her jacket.

"She will," Doris said but crossed her arms. "Watch the violence around Candice. I can keep her from seeing violence but, it's hard to disguise the sound of someone's face being punched in."

"Yes ma'am," Vera muttered sarcastically. Vera walked off towards Candice and Lulu

Doris looked around before walking towards Reyna. The praetor had turned on her side and was slowly looking around. Doris placed a foot on Reyna's head pushing her face into the grass.

"I plan on toppling your sister just like this. These girls think that I wanted Otrera to rule. They think we will find a willing champion to do that after we convinced the rest of the Amazons to join us. Want to know the truth?" Doris asked quietly. She kneeled, so her knee was pressing into the back of Reyna's head.

"I want to take power for myself. I was going to kill you to emotionally destroy your sister. She would be distracted during our fight," Doris continued. "Then, I would defeat her and take control. I would have to kill off the other two before that but not Candice. She is a follower and looks up to me."

"No one can know what I am doing here. The other Amazons actually like you. They would turn on me if they knew I killed you," Doris spat pressing her knee down hard. Reyna weakly scratched at Doris' knee. "Quit fighting praetor. It would seem cold blooded of me to fight Hylla while she was emotionally distracted, but that is fine with me."

"Hylla would kill you before you could challenge her. She would know," Reyna groaned weakly. Doris growled.

"See, I would not be there when they send the Iris message to your sister. You made Vera so mad that she is going to kill you if I ask. I am going to go off pretending there is a monster while this happens," Doris said. She chuckled at her own plan.

"Vera is going to execute you," Doris continued. Then, I will come in a second too late. The other two will be promptly taken care of. I will have Candice give Hylla a story about how we were loyal Amazons who wanted to stop the crazy plans of traitors."

"She won't believe you," Reyna groaned. She spat blood out. Doris made a face.

"I agree that it is a long shot. I think she may be willing to listen if I carry your body to her while Candice gives the story. Then, I will challenge her in front of every Amazon there," Doris whispered.

Doris looked like she was about to continue, but Candice jogged back into the clearing holding something. Doris stood, and Reyna slowly lifted her head.

"I found these cool phones. I even have a signal!" Candice exclaimed.

"I believe Iris was working on these. She thought they would be safe for any half blood to use, but it failed. It still alerts monsters like any cell phone, but you get a signal anywhere," Doris explained.

Candice nodded looking disappointed. Doris ruffled her hair. Reyna slowly looked at the phone, and a fuzzy idea formed. Candice slipped the phone into her jacket pocket.

"Stay here with the prisoner. I am sure she will not be moving," Doris said. Candice nodded, and Doris walked away.

"Did you really kill Kallie?" Candce asked. Reyna slowly looked at her.

"I didn't mean to," Reyna answered in a quiet voice. She rolled onto her back. Candice quietly walked over to her and knelt next to her.

"What do they want with you?" Candice wondered. Reyna studied her quietly.

"I don't know," Reyna lied. Candice nodded with a frown. She studied Reyna's bloody face.

"What is a praetor?" Candice asked.

"It is one of the two leaders of New Rome," Reyna answered trying to fight her exhaustion. "Do you really have a cell phone that gets a signal anywhere?"

"Yeah," Candice responded excitedly. She showed Reyna the phone.

"Could I test it?" Reyna questioned. Candice frowned looking at her unsure.

"I can do it in front of you. I just want to test it out. No harm will come from it," Reyna lied. She hated tricking the young girl, but there was no other option. Candice finally nodded and handed Reyna the phone.

Reyna held the phone to where Candice could see it. She typed in the only number she knew. Candice watched silently. Reyna felt nervous until she heard the receiver of the call pick up.

"Hello?" the person said. Reyna hung up the phone. She forced herself to smile at Candice.

"Mind staying here after Doris comes back?" Reyna asked handing Candice the phone. Candice nodded sitting by her. Reyna took a deep breath trying to stay awake. She was determined to protect Candice from the hell that would break loose.

After a few minutes, Doris walked towards them and glared. She walked straight towards Candice and pulled her up. Reyna looked up at Doris who looked as if her glare could smite Reyna.

A growl cut through the tense silence. Doris looked up and grabbed her sword. Reyna slowly stood, and a hellhound jumped into the clearing. Doris gently pushed Candice away from her.

"Come get me ugly!" Doris yelled. She ran at the hellhound. The hellhound ran at her but jumped over her. Doris turned in horror realizing the hellhound was going after Candice.

Reyna tackled Candice out of the way cursing in pain. She pulled Candice up and looked around. The young girl looked terrified.

"We need to run," Reyna said as another hellhound jumped into the clearing.

"But, Doris and the others," Candice protested freezing in place. Reyna saw the second hellhound lunge at Candice. She shoved the young girl out of the way. The hellhound slammed into Reyna.

Reyna gasped in pain. She felt a crunching sound that she hoped was her armor. The hellhound's face was inches from hers. Before Reyna could react, the hellhound disintegrated. Candice held a dagger staring at her in terror.

"Come on," Reyna gasped slowly standing. She grabbed Candice's arm. "This place is going to be overrun by monsters soon. Doris is lying to you about the reasons you are here. We have to go. I am Hylla's sister."

Candice looked at her before looking at Doris. She finally nodded and gently grabbed Reyna's bound hands. Reyna glanced back at Doris before running out of the clearing with Candice.


	5. V

**Thank you for all the reviews, follows, and favorites.**

**Special thanks to Reckreator for catching my mistake last chapter.**

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><p>Annabeth should have realized something was wrong when her phone rang. No one ever called her unless it was an absolute emergency. Only a few people knew her phone number.<p>

"Hello?" Annabeth asked. The call ended immediately. Annabeth frowned looking at the unknown number.

"Who was it?" Hylla questioned looking around.

"Wrong number, apparently," Annabeth answered with a sigh. Hylla glanced at her. Annabeth walked towards one of the shops only to see an older man standing outside it. He was locking the door.

"Sir," Annabeth called as they walked towards them. The man looked at them.

"Sorry, we are closed today," the man said.

"Why?" Hylla asked.

"Praetor Frank asked everyone to take a break. He said everyone deserved a small break after everything we have been through. I can't complain because I can spend time with my family," the man replied.

"We will not keep you any longer. Thank you for your time," Annabeth said. The man smiled and walked away. Annabeth waited till he was out of earshot before she cursed in ancient Greek.

"I am going to have to speak to a certain praetor," Hylla muttered.

"I told him to make sure that no complications would arise," Annabeth explained rubbing her temples.

"So, he shut down the entire city just to avoid a complication? Boys," Hylla grumbled.

"It is easy to avoid complications if there is nothing to cause one," Annabeth countered.

"Now, we have the complication," Hylla said giving her a look.

"Do you have any ideas?" Annabeth asked.

"I say a road trip is in order," Hylla answered. Annabeth looked at her then around New Rome. The streets were mostly empty except for the man who was about to turn a corner.

"We should tell the others first," Annabeth suggested. Hylla nodded and suddenly winced. She put a hand to her head. Annabeth glanced at her.

"This is not good," Hylla muttered. Annabeth looked at Hylla in concern. Hylla slowly walked to the outdoor café across the street. She sat down in a chair putting a hand to her head.

"What's wrong?" Annabeth asked kneeling next to her. There was no answer from Hylla. Annabeth quietly watched her.

"Something is wrong with Reyna," Hylla answered. She gritted her teeth as if she was in pain.

"So, this is not a false alarm?" Annabeth questioned.

"No," Hylla responded. She stood and shook her head. "Everything is starting to become fuzzy like I have a concussion. That means Reyna has one."

Hylla started walking quickly. She seemed to grow angrier with each step. Annabeth followed her despite being filled with questions.

"How does your sense work?" Annabeth wondered. Hylla glanced at her.

"I receive these feelings every so often," Hylla began. "Imagine someone pokes you in the arm with a sharp stick. It is like that except for different parts of my body. That means that Reyna somehow got herself injured there."

"Reyna has a concussion then?" Annabeth questioned.

"According to the headache I have, Reyna has a bad one," Hylla said picking up the pace. Hylla looked like she wanted to teleport to Reyna's house.

"Can you tell all the injuries that she has?" Annabeth wondered.

"No," Hylla replied. Annabeth nodded trying to form a plan.

"Reyna could only have a concussion, or she could have something worse. I say we get back to the others, grab Percy, and have him call for Blackjack along with Guido," Annabeth began.

"We can send Jason, Hazel, and Piper with Leo," Hylla continued. Her walk suddenly turned into a jog. Annabeth jogged to catch up with her.

"We could just send Hazel out with Arion," Annabeth offered.

"Reyna left Camp Half-Blood not that long ago. Nico could shadow travel with Hazel to the camp, and they could use Arion to look for Reyna together," Hylla suggested. Annabeth nodded. Hylla sped up and did not stop till she was at Reyna's front door.

Annabeth lagged behind trying to catch her breath. The poisonous air of Tartarus seemed to stay in her lungs, and she got winded easier. Annabeth followed Hylla through the front door.

Percy looked up at them and smiled until he saw Hylla's face. Leo was sitting in the living room with Jason. Leo stood and winced at the look of anger on Hylla's face.

"Look, I know that you are angry that I ruined the food," Leo said. He opened his mouth to say more.

"Reyna is hurt," Hylla interrupted.

"How do you know?" Jason asked immediately standing. Hylla walked towards the table shoving unused decorations aside. The other demigods gathered around.

Frank and Hazel had arrived and were standing to Annabeth's right. Percy squeezed in on her left. The others filed around the table.

"I know Reyna is in trouble, but I have no clue where she is. Annabeth and I thought up a plan. Percy, you are going to call Blackjack and Guido here. Annabeth and I will go with you," Hylla explained. She took a deep breath to calm down.

"Leo, we are going to need to use Festus. Piper and Jason will go with you. Your job is to fly around and keep an eye out for Reyna," Annabeth continued.

"Hazel and Nico, we need you two to shadow travel to Camp Half-Blood and use Arion to search the area around there," Hylla finished.

"What about me?" Frank asked.

"You need to stay here in case anything happens while we are gone," Annabeth said. Frank didn't look happy, but he nodded. He had grown close to Reyna while they worked together as praetors.

"I hate say this," Leo interrupted. "But, how are we going to find Reyna? There is a lot of space to cover. If she is not back by tomorrow, the other Romans are going to question."

"Then, you had better start looking!" Hylla hissed.

"Hylla, he has a point," Percy said.

"It would look all bad if we just rushed off. The others would know something is wrong," Jason added.

"Do you just want me to forget about my sister?" Hylla snapped. "Reyna is in trouble out there. It's my job to protect her!"

"Hylla, calm down," Annabeth soothed. "Reyna can defend herself. We are still going to look for her, but we have to do it logically."

Hylla supplied no response gripping a chair. Her knuckles were white. Annabeth looked at the others who all watched quietly.

"We have to find Reyna, and we will find her. Nico and Hazel, can you two shadow travel to Camp Half-Blood with Arion and look for Reyna? Come back as soon as you find anything," Annabeth said.

"We will be back as soon as we find something out," Nico promised. He started to walk out with Hazel who looked back.

"Do not worry Hylla. We will find Reyna soon," Hazel promised. She followed Nico out. Hylla glared daggers at Annabeth.

"And I am just suppose to sit here?" Hylla demanded. Piper placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Everything will be fine," Piper said soothingly. She had put charmspeak into her words to calm Hylla. The queen of the Amazons tensed and jerked away.

"Do not use charmspeak on me," Hylla warned. Piper looked down.

"It might not be as bad as it seems," Percy said. "Reyna has her two dogs to keep her safe."

Hylla looked away from them glaring at the table. Piper glanced at Annabeth who shook her head. There was suddenly a soft scratching at the door.

Annabeth glanced at the others and walked to the front door. She opened it and cursed in ancient Greek. Argentum was right next to the door sitting. Aurum was leaning on his brother with an arrow buried in his side.

"Leo!" Annabeth called gently scooping up Aurum. She carried the golden dog inside. Argentum followed by her side. Leo hurried over to them.

"That is not good," Jason said.

"Why are Reyna's dogs here?" Percy asked.

"They would only be here if Reyna ordered them to, or if she was dead," Hylla muttered. Annabeth met Percy's eyes. Percy's eyes were wide, but Annabeth's held doubt that Reyna was dead.

"Do you think she is?" Piper asked softly.

"No. I would know," Hylla answered gently petting Argentum. Annabeth laid Aurum on the table. Leo quietly looked over the wound and pulled the arrow out.

"Can you fix Aurum?" Annabeth asked.

"Of course," Leo huffed sounding a little insulted that Annabeth had questioned his skills. Hylla picked up the arrow studying it.

"Can they help us find Reyna?" Piper wondered.

"Ask Hylla," Leo answered. Leo took the time to glance up at Hylla who was staring at the arrow.

"I recognize this arrow," Hylla muttered.

"Where do you recognize it from?" Jason asked. Hylla rolled the arrow in her fingers. The arrow looked like any other normal arrow except the shaft was black and had two initials painted on it in gold.

"They belonged to a former Amazon named Kallie," Hylla said and snapped the arrow in half. She dropped the arrow rubbing her temples.

"Former?" Percy questioned.

"She is one of the rogue Amazons that I told you about earlier," Hylla said starting to pace. "What would they want with Reyna?"

"As a hostage to get you to do what they wanted," Percy replied.

"How dangerous are these rogue Amazons?" Annabeth asked.

"Extremely," Hylla answered. "And if they want Reyna, my sister is in serious trouble."


	6. VI

**Thank you for all the follows, favorites, and reviews.  
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><p>Reyna ran ten feet before her knee gave out. She tumbled hard to the ground cursing in pain. Candice stopped running and turned towards her.<p>

"Go," Reyna hissed feeling her kneecap. She wanted to scream in anger. Out of everything, she was beaten by a broken kneecap. Candice suddenly grabbed Reyna's hand.

"We need to go," Candice said. She had a look in her eyes that said she would not leave Reyna behind. Reyna briefly wondered who was more stubborn.

"You are going to leave" Reyna ordered. Candice grabbed her dagger and grabbed Reyna's bound hands. She cut the rope.

"We need to leave," Candice corrected. Reyna sighed and nodded once. Moving her head anymore caused tremendous pain to shoot through her skull. Reyna slowly scooted towards a tree and pulled herself up.

Reyna groaned in pain. She leaned on the tree trying to take all the weight off her injured knee. Candice watched her before looking around.

"Let's go," Reyna finally muttered. She pushed herself off the tree and limped away. Candice followed closely trying to look brave.

"Are you really Queen Hylla's sister?" Candice asked after awhile. Reyna lost count of how many steps she had taken. She focused on blocking out the pain.

"Yes," Reyna answered trying to judge how long they had been walking. She wanted to guess ten minutes. Everything was starting to slow down, and she felt dizzy.

"I can see the family resemblance. Well, before you had blood all over your face," Candice commented. Reyna nodded absently focusing on the path ahead. She slowly looked at her hands which had blood all over them. Was that blood from her side? Or, was the blood from her face?

"Are you okay?" Candice questioned Reyna looking at her. Reyna slowly looked around her head pounding. Her head ached horribly. Reyna tried to focus on Candice's face but everything became blurry.

"I'm f…fine," Reyna slurred, and she closed her eyes tightly. Her headache was getting worse by the second. Reyna opened her eyes and slowly tried to look around, but the world started spinning. She suddenly collapsed to her knees barely aware of the sharp pain that shot through her body.

Reyna slowly tried to stand, but she collapsed to the ground completely. She could feel someone shaking her shoulder trying to get her attention. Reyna tried to raise her head, but everything turned blurry. Reyna laid her head back on the ground as she passed out.

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><p>"What in Hades happened here?" Nico muttered to himself as Arion stopped. Nico jumped off the horse stumbling slightly. He straightened himself and walked towards the van trying to take everything in.<p>

There were various boulders everywhere. Nico guessed it was safe to assume a boulder had slammed into the van. The only question was if Reyna had been in the van at the time.

"There was death here not long ago," Hazel said walking towards Nico. She looked around and quietly walked towards a dead girl. Nico forced himself to focus on the rest of the battlefield.

There was monster dust everywhere. Two iron clubs were lying on different sides of the vans. A crumpled shield was near one of the clubs.

"Nico, I found something," Hazel called. Nico hurried over to Hazel who was standing over the dead girl. The girl was wearing a jumpsuit and had a javelin buried in her chest. The son of Hades frowned and slowly pulled the weapon out.

"Is that Reyna's javelin?" Nico asked examining the weapon.

"Yes," Hazel confirmed. Nico looked around, and a glint caught his eye.

"I found her dagger," Nico said walking towards a dagger that near monster dust. He picked it up. Hazel walked towards the van scooping up the arrows she could see.

"Should we head back?" Hazel asked examining the arrows.

"I'm not sure. I can see a few bloodstains but not a trail," Nico answered with a frown. Hazel walked towards him.

"We have a starting point. We should tell the others," Hazel suggested. Nico nodded walking towards Arion. The horse gave him a look that said no. Hazel walked towards Arion and gave him a golden nugget.

"We can use a tree's shadow to get back," Nico said. Hazel nodded and looked around one more time. Nico led her away, but they heard a scream in the distance.

Arion seemed to appear at Hazel's side. She slipped on her cavalry helmet and pulled herself onto Arion. Nico looked at Hazel as she held out a hand. She swung him up as Arion sped off.

Nico held on tightly to Hazel until Arion sped into a clearing. Nico grabbed his sword looking around. He could see a girl lying on her back. She was wearing the same jumpsuit as the dead girl near the van.

"I recognize her," Hazel gasped sliding off Arion. She knelt next to the girl. "You were one of the Amazons that I ran into when I was with Percy and Frank. I hung you over the railing"

The girl slowly looked up at her. Hazel looked up at Nico, and it was clear she was trying to avoid looking at the girl's ripped open chest. Nico could sense that the girl was near death.

"Where is Reyna?" Nico questioned trying to hide his anger. The girl slowly looked at him. She laid her head back staring at the sky.

"Doris told me that the praetor would be the key to revenge. We would kill her and restore the Amazons to their former glory. Doris stabbed me in the back and left me for dead. I hope Vera made it," the girl muttered.

"Does this Doris have Reyna?" Nico demanded. The girl looked at him as if he was not there.

"Tell Queen Hylla I am sorry," the girl whispered.

"What is your name?" Hazel asked softly.

"Lulu," the girl whispered. She looked at Hazel. "Please protect Candice. She does not understand what we did. She is too young to suffer for our mistakes."

"I will do my best," Hazel promised. Lulu smiled and was no more. Hazel quietly closed Lulu's eyes.

"We need to go. I am sure there are plenty of monsters around," Nico said. Hazel nodded and stood. Nico grabbed her hand, and they stepped into the shadows.


	7. VII

Annabeth thought Hylla was going to punch a hole through a wall. The queen of the Amazons had listened silently as Nico and Hazel told everyone what they had found. When they finished, Hylla had started pacing agitated. Nico placed Reyna's javelin and dagger on the table

"Are you sure Lulu said Doris stabbed her in the back?" Hylla demanded looking at the Nico and Hazel. The two nodded as they watched her pace

"I'm going to guess Doris is the worse," Percy said.

"Doris is the most dangerous. She hates me for what happened to her own sister," Hylla explained. She stopped and looked at the wall as if remembering something painful.

"What happened to her sister?" Annabeth wondered.

"I led an attack on a Cyclops camp a year ago. The attack diverted from the plan, and Doris' sister was killed. Doris blamed me for the death of her sister and has wanted revenge ever since," Hylla answered.

"I thought the rogue Amazons were against you because they did not want you to rule," Jason said.

"They are," Hylla confirmed. "Doris just has an extra reason to hate me."

"What is our plan?" Piper questioned. Annabeth glanced at Hylla who seemed to have calmed down.

"I wish we could just tear apart the forest, but I don't want to risk alerting Doris," Hylla muttered.

"We can't just wait around," Nico argued.

"I don't plan on it," Hylla promised. "Annabeth, can I speak to you alone?"

"Of course," Annabeth replied standing. Hylla looked at the others and seemed to study them. She finally led Annabeth out of the house.

Hylla stayed silent for too long. She looked like she was struggling to find what to say. They walked along the streets and Annabeth found her mind wandering to the architecture. She almost missed Hylla's question.

"Do you think Reyna has a chance?" Hylla asked. Annabeth looked at her in surprise. Hylla couldn't meet her eyes.

"I think Reyna will be fine," Annabeth answered placing a hand on Hylla's shoulder. "Reyna is one of the strongest and most skilled demigods I know. She will be fine."

"I still hold doubt," Hylla admitted as she stopped walking. She looked at Annabeth.

"Why?" Annabeth questioned.

"Doris has the advantage. I doubt she is injured. Even if Doris is wounded, there is no way she is in a worse shape than Reyna. Doris desires revenge which she naturally seems to get because of her mother," Hylla explained.

"Nemesis is Doris' mother," Annabeth guessed.

"Yes," Hylla confirmed. "As a daughter of Nemesis, revenge comes easier to Doris. She wants revenge on me, and she will hurt Reyna to get it. I can't let my sister suffer because of my mistakes."

"Tell me about the rogue Amazons. All of them," Annabeth said.

"You know everything you need to know about Doris. I think it is obvious that she is the leader," Hylla muttered walking aimlessly. "Her second in command was Lulu. The two became close before they finally broke away,"

"The three others are a mixed bag. Vera, a daughter of Mars, is the adopted sister of the girl, Kallie, who was killed by Reyna. Vera hates Romans because her mother was killed by a Roman. The last one is Candice. I don't know who her mother is, but she fell into a hero's worship with Doris," Hylla explained.

"Can Reyna flip Vera or Candice over to her side?" Annabeth wondered.

"Vera respects strength," Hylla replied. "The only problem is that Reyna killed her sister. That probably eliminated any chance of an alliance. Candice is a wildcard. She is young and easily influenced."

Annabeth nodded. Her mind was working a million miles per hour. She silently followed Hylla as they wound through the streets.

"We need to find out where Reyna is," Annabeth said and thought. "It is possible for Aurum or Argentum to lead us to her location if we take them back to the van?"

"I don't think so," Hylla muttered kicking a loose pebble. "We could send an Iris message."

"That would only attract attention," Annabeth argued.

"We have no clue where she is then. We are back to square one again," Hylla muttered starting to get angrier with each step. An idea started forming in Annabeth's head. She suddenly felt Hylla stop.

Annabeth looked up at the temple they had stopped in front of. Above the door, there was a sword crossed with a torch. Hylla glanced at Annabeth.

"I will meet you back at Reyna's house," Hylla said. Annabeth nodded. Hylla took a deep breath and stepped into the temple.

Annabeth watched her go before she turned away. An idea blossomed in her head, but she didn't know if it would work. Annabeth went through all the possible variables before she saw was Percy and Jason talking.

Jason laughed at Percy's joke though he still looked worried. Annabeth waved to Percy who smiled slightly. The boys looked tensed.

"Is Hylla okay?" Jason asked.

"She's just worried. I have an idea though," Annabeth replied.

"Let's hear it," Jason said.

"I still need to think it over. It can be risky," Annabeth said leading the boys inside. She gave a distracted wave to the others and sat down.

"Are we just going to sit around?" Leo wondered.

"No," Annabeth replied looking at him. "We are going to sit here while we wait for Hylla to come back."

"You want us to sit around and do nothing?" Leo asked again as if looking for confirmation.

"I do have an idea," Annabeth reassured. "Hazel, can you shadow travel with Piper and find someone for me?"

"Of course," Hazel replied after a moment of consideration. Piper nodded.

"Who are we looking for?" Piper asked. Annabeth went to reply only to hear Hylla step in.

"I have an idea," Hylla said breathlessly.

"Annabeth has one too," Jason added.

"What is it?" Hylla asked looking at Annabeth. Aurum suddenly growled. He had been repaired by Leo and looked good as new. Hylla glared past Annabeth causing the daughter of Athena to turn.

"Do not stop on my account," a woman said from the Iris message. She had small cuts on her face but was smirking. The girl had curly black hair and cruel brown eyes.

"Doris," Hylla growled.

"Queen Hylla," Doris spat with a mock bow.

"Why send an Iris message to us?" Annabeth questioned. Doris ignored Annabeth, but her eyes sparkled with amusement.

"Have you been in contact with your dear sister?" Doris sneered.

"What is the point of this Doris?" Hylla growled.

"I just wanted to chat," Doris taunted not losing her smirk. "Actually, I just wanted to tell you it is a waste of time to look for your sister. She is dead meat."

"I cannot wait for Reyna to knock that smirk off your face," Hylla growled clenching her fist.

"Reyna can barely walk. She has such a bad concussion that she cannot tell left from right. Should I talk about how much blood she lost when Vera pinned her and punched her over and over and over again?" Doris taunted.

"I'm going to kill you Doris," Hylla promised and turned to Nico. "We are shadow traveling. Now."

"I would not do that Hylla," Doris warned.

"I think we have heard enough from you," Annabeth interrupted. She raised her hand to cut the connection. Doris smirked and looked straight at Hylla.

"Why would I not want to?" Hylla growled.

"I know where Reyna is," Doris answered.

"Bullshit," Hylla spat.

"Do you want to know what I am going to do if you shadow travel here?" Doris questioned. She still had her evil smirk. She picked something up from the ground and held a phone up for Hylla to see. "I plan on doing what your sister did."

"What did Reyna do?" Hylla asked after a moment of silence.

"She decided to use a phone just like this to call someone. A horde of monsters attacked, and your sister ran," Doris spat. Annabeth's hand shot to her pocket. Doris noticed the movement. "So, you were the person she called?"

"You want revenge Doris? We can fight anywhere you want. Leave my sister out of it!" Hylla snapped.

"I will let Reyna know that you love her as I have my foot on her neck," Doris spat. Piper ended the Iris message before Hylla could. Hylla grabbed a chair and threw it clear across the room.

"Doris is trying to throw you off," Piper warned.

"It worked," Hylla spat. Annabeth placed a hand on her shoulder.

"I have a plan," Annabeth promised.

"Let's hear it," Hylla grumbled.


	8. VIII

"Are you sure that her knee will be okay?" a small voice asked interrupting Reyna's dreamless sleep. Reyna's eyes slowly drifted open. She was lying on side with her cloak draped over her. The sky was slowly darkening.

There was a small fire burning next to her. Reyna could see two shapes sitting next to the fire. One was cleaning a large knife glancing at Reyna every so often. The other was huddled near the fire

"I really don't care if it is. We should have just left her for the monsters," the voice of the figure cleaning a knife muttered. Reyna recognized it but could not place it. She remembered the van breaking down, but everything after that was fuzzy.

"She did not mean it Vera," the first voice protested. Reyna slowly looked at the two figures. She recognized them, and the name sparked the memory of Vera assaulting her. The events of the day slowly started to come back.

Vera looked at Reyna and grunted. Vera was covered in bruises and had blood covering her jacket. Candice scooted closer to Reyna seeing she was awake.

"If you can walk, we need to get going soon," Vera muttered.

"Where are we?" Reyna asked slowly sitting up. She winced as pain shot through her skull. Vera stood kicking out the fire.

"We are in the forest. Do you remember what happened?" Candice questioned.

"It's slowly coming back," Reyna replied slowly trying to stand. Vera pulled her up roughly.

"You can remember as we walk!" Vera spat. "Thanks to your wonderful plan we have to move to avoid monsters."

"Where are we going?" Reyna asked looking around slowly.

"This way," Vera replied. She shoved Reyna in the direction they were supposed to go. Reyna gritted her teeth as she stumbled. Her knee ached in protest from the sudden movement. She walked forward refusing to show anymore weakness.

Candice moved to Reyna's side smiling at her. Reyna glanced at her and smiled slightly. Vera trailed behind them keeping a close eye on the two.

Candice explained how Vera had found the two in the forest. Candice attempted to drag Reyna but was not strong enough to move her more than a few feet. Vera had found them and wanted to leave Reyna behind. Candice pleaded with Vera who finally gave in.

Reyna listened silently. She remembered the other events of the day and realized she was having a really crappy birthday. Reyna wondered for a moment if this year would crack the top three worst birthdays ever. She doubted it.

Reyna glanced back at Vera who glared hatefully. She considered making a break for it. Her knee ached, but she could bend it. Her face did not hurt as much either, but the cut on her eyebrow was still there. Her nose no longer felt broken though there was still an ache.

"We gave you nectar," Vera muttered. Reyna could just feel the glare on her back. "We should not have wasted, it but we did. Candice was concerned about your bleeding sides."

"Thanks," Reyna said to Candice. Candice smiled at her and grabbed her hand. Reyna smiled a little more this time before looking ahead. She was trying to think of a plan.

"Do not think this makes us friends," Vera muttered moving to Reyna's side. "You killed my sister, and I will never forgive you."

"It was in self defense," Reyna said looking at her. She studied Vera wondering if explaining would help. "Your two friends could have saved her if they tried. They were focused on me instead. I was too stunned to do anything."

"Shut up," Vera spat.

"Doris was going to kill all three of you but spare Candice. She was glad your sister had been killed," Reyna explained. Vera turned towards Reyna stepping in front of her. Reyna held her gaze

"I understand Doris is a backstabbing bitch!" Vera hissed. "I watched her stab Lulu in the back and leave her for dead. That does not change anything between us. You killed my sister. I would have left you if Candice did not beg"

"Guys, we need to go," Candice mumbled gently grabbing their hands. Vera took a deep breath.

"Let's get out of here. Then, you can beat my face in again," Reyna offered after a moment of tense silence.

"Fine," Vera muttered taking another deep breath. She looked at Reyna and sighed. Some of the tension seemed to clear from the air. "Do you need help walking?"

"I can walk. How many monsters are still in the forest?" Reyna asked.

"I killed about ten before I found you two," Vera responded. Reyna nodded and started to walk again. She had formed an uneasy alliance with Vera, but she had a feeling it would not last long.

"Where are we going?" Candice asked.

"We need to get back to the city. I know someone who can give us a ride," Vera replied.

"Where would this ride take us?" Reyna questioned. She glanced at Vera.

"It will take us to an Amazon base, so I can beg for forgiveness from your sister. Hopefully, she will not kill me on the spot. We will get you back to your camp," Vera replied staring straight ahead.

"What about Doris?" Candice asked. Vera stopped walking and looked at her. She placed a hand on the young girl's shoulder.

"Sweetie, Doris is not a good influence. I know you looked up to her, but she is not going about our mission the right way," Vera said.

"Doris wanted to take power for herself. She was only using Otrera's values as a ruse. You were to take the fall for killing me," Reyna added as she looked at Vera. Reyna told them everything Doris had told her.

Vera listened to her and seemed to grow angrier by the second. She gripped her sword and took a deep breath. Candice stared at Reyna in shock. Reyna glanced away looking around.

"We need to go," Vera finally ordered. She grabbed Candice's arm. The three started to walk again. Candice stayed closed to Vera.

Reyna walked with a feeling of dread setting in her stomach. There was something about this part of the forest that seemed wrong. Reyna glanced at Vera ready to voice her concerns. Vera looked at her placing a foot on the ground. There was the sound of metal making contact with bone. Vera cried out as a bear trap closed around her ankle.

Candice froze and turned towards her friend. Vera fell to the ground and grabbed the top of the bear trap. She tried to open it, but it would not budge. Reyna carefully knelt next to her.

The bear trap was biting into Vera's ankle. The ends were extremely sharp. There was no way a mortal would legally be allowed to sell one like that.

"Let's open it and go," Vera hissed painfully. She was starting to sweat.

"Where is the nectar?" Reyna asked immediately. Candice handed her a canteen that was half full. "The bear trap is poisoned. I need to cut it open."

"Why would mortals set a poisoned bear trap?" Vera demanded painfully.

"I doubt it was mortals," Reyna responded grabbing Vera's dagger. She went to cut the bear trap, but the dagger bounced off. "What in the name of Bellona?"

Reyna felt the air shift beside her. She turned holding the dagger. The shadows seemed to be watching her.

"Reyna Avila Ramírez-Arellano," A voice greeted. The voice seemed to form from the air around her. Reyna knew only one thing which was that the speaker was powerful. Reyna instinctively dropped to one knee. She balanced herself on her good knee.

"Your friend was caught in one of my traps? Zeus wanted me to test them out on monsters around this forest. He knew many monsters would be out in this forest since it is so close to the camp, and so many of you half-bloods hurry through," the voice said.

"Who are you?" Candice inquired.

"Candice Ann Auriolus," the voice said seeming amused. "Your mother has a sense of irony."

"You know my mother?" Candice questioned.

"I hate to interrupt," Vera muttered looking pale. "I am kind of dying here."

"You have my apologies," the voice said, and there was the snapping of fingers. The bear trap opened, and Vera gently removed her leg. Vera grabbed bandages and a towel from the small backpack on her back.

"I can handle it. You see what our friend wants in return," Vera muttered to Reyna who had moved closer to help. Reyna nodded and stood. She looked around trying to find the owner of the voice.

"Thank you for helping my friend," Reyna began. The word felt odd in her mouth. The voice chuckled with amusement.

"What do you want for repayment?" Vera muttered wincing. "Should we go find metals for more traps? Maybe, we can attract more monsters, so you can test out your traps,"

Reyna shot Vera a look like shut up. Vera glared hatefully at her trying to bandage her leg. Reyna gave her another look that said not to piss off the being who could smite them with a thought.

"I cannot help out of the kindness of my heart?" the voice wondered. It sounded more amused than insulted.

"My lord, it is just that most of the Olympians require some kind of tribute for their help. The minor gods also do this too," Reyna answered carefully.

"I guess that is the difference between Olympians and Titans," the voice commented. Reyna stared ahead trying to hide her surprise. The air seemed to move around her. The outline of a man formed in front of her.

"I helped out the Olympians these last few years. It is better than having to hold up the sky or the other punishments my brethren go through," the Titan said.

"Who are you?" Candice asked. The Titan seemed to smile.

"Lelantos," the Titan replied. Reyna studied the figure trying to bring the Titan to her memory.

"Why is a Titan helping us?" Vera questioned as she finished her bandaging. Reyna slowly helped her stand.

"You set off my favorite trap," Lelantos answered. Reyna got the feeling that he was serious.

"We apologize for the inconvenience, my lord," Reyna said. Lelantos studied her and smiled.

"It has been awhile since I was treated with respect by a half-blood. I do hope that you survive your encounter," Lelantos sighed.

"What encounter?" Reyna asked.

"The daughter of Nemesis is hunting you. You are her prey. I am the Titan of air and the unseen. I also deal with the skills of hunting prey," Lelantos explained.

"We should start walking then," Vera muttered.

"Has Doris prayed to you for help?" Reyna asked. Lelantos looked amused.

"Has anyone prayed to a Titan for anything?" Lelantos countered. He sounded sad. He may have even sounded a little wishful.

"Thank you for releasing me from your trap. We need to go. Now," Vera interrupted.

"Thank you for your audience Lelantos," Reyna said looking at the Titan. "And, thank you for the warning about Doris."

Lelantos smiled at her, and the air shimmered. The figure disappeared. Reyna looked at Vera.

"We wasted enough time," Vera grumbled. She walked away with a small limp. Reyna followed behind. Every so often, Reyna would instinctively sidestep a trap that had been set for monsters.

They walked in silence for a few minutes before she heard a twig snap. Reyna turned towards the sound and stopped walking. She could feel a set of eyes on her.

"We need to go," Vera said grabbing Reyna's arm. Reyna suddenly shoved Vera to the ground as a spike flew over her head.

"We need to run," Reyna hissed as the monster jumped into the clearing. The Manticore glared at them as it walked towards them.

"How many monsters did you summon?" Vera spat angrily.

"Go and get Candice out of here," Reyna said. Vera looked at her, and Reyna stood. "I'll hold off the Manticore. Go!"

"We're in this together praetor," Vera said standing. She handed Reyna her dagger. Reyna gripped the dagger looking at the Manticore.

The Manticore's human head had an amused look. His lion body was tensed. The most dangerous part of him, the scorpion tail, was aimed at Candice.

"It took an Olympian to kill me years ago. Two of the most powerful demigods could not stand against. What chance do you have?" the Manticore sneered.

"Why don't you shut up, and we'll find out," Reyna spat.

"As you wish," the Manticore said and lunged.


	9. IX

"Are you going to keep staring?" Hedge asked looking at the half bloods in front of him. Jason and Piper had dragged him from Camp Half-Blood to Camp Jupiter. They said it was urgent. Hedge did not believe it was more important than showing his son the beauty of _Walker, Texas Ranger_.

That line of thinking did not last long. Annabeth had explained the situation while an agitated Hylla paced. Hedge listened silently though he already knew his decision.

"Can you help?" Piper asked. Hedge glanced at her and looked back at the others. Hylla was staring at him as if he could solve all of her problems. Hedge looked away from the intense gaze.

"Empathy links are tricky things," Hedge replied.

"You can find Reyna with it, right?" Hylla asked.

"It is risky," Percy said passing drinks around to the others. "If Reyna gets killed, the same will happen to the coach, or he might become a vegetable."

"Reyna will be fine!" Hylla snapped. She stood, but Annabeth gently grabbed her arm. They seemed to have a silent conversation, and Hylla slowly sat down.

"I'm going to establish the link. I just need concentration," Hedge reassured. He closed his eyes and tried to think of Reyna. The hardest thing about empathy links was the connection that was needed. It was impossible to make an empathy link with someone that that there was no personal connection with.

Luckily, Hedge had that connection with Reyna. The two, along with Nico, saved the world when they helped deliver the Athena Parthenos to Camp Half-Blood. Sure, the seven fought Gaea's minions and put her back to sleep. They would never have had the opportunity to do so if it was not for Hedge, Nico, and Reyna.

The adventure was just the connection Hedge needed. He thought about the Roman. Reyna's face was fixated in his mind. He took a deep breath, and he was suddenly in a different place.

Hedge slowly blinked looking around the forest. The trees were green and lush except for the few trees that had black spikes impaled in them. Hedge glanced around and saw Reyna throw her cloak in front of herself. A spike bounced harmlessly off of it.

Reyna glanced to the side, and Hedge looked at the young girl that was being picked up by an older girl. The older had a hood covering her face, but Hedge did not miss the cruelness in it.

"Stay back Manticore," the older girl sneered. Reyna slowly stood trying to move around to the Manticore's other side. The Manticore swiped at her with its tail. Reyna jumped back and cursed in pain. She stumbled slightly and gripped her knee.

The older girl sat the younger one down. Her expression shifted from anger to concern. The younger girl had one of the Manticore's poisonous spikes buried in her shoulder.

Reyna dodged another swipe from the Manticore's tail. She grabbed one of the spikes that had been buried in the tree. Reyna threw it at the Manticore. It grazed the Manticore's face, and the monster backed away.

"Reyna!" Hedge called. He hated distracting her, but he needed to warn her. Reyna turned towards him looking surprised. Hedge stared at Reyna seeing how wounded she was.

"What are you doing here?" Reyna asked before quickly turning back to the Manticore. She barely brought her cloak up to protect herself. Spikes harmlessly bounced off the cloak.

"You better not die," Hedge warned. Reyna grunted in response. She lunged at the Manticore before rolling away. The older girl attacked from the other side. Reyna glanced back at Hedge.

"I won't die," Reyna muttered sounding pained.

"You should see to that cupcake. If you die, I will too," Hedge said. Reyna froze, and the full weight of the Manticore's tail slammed into her chest. Hedge winced in pain as Reyna slammed into a tree.

Hedge took the moment to examine Reyna. The praetor's armor was dented, scratched, and covered in a mixture of dirt and blood. Reyna's face was a bloody mess, and her nose was definitely broken.

"What do you mean you'll die?" Reyna wheezed. She looked like the breath had been knocked right out of her. Hedge felt bad for her. He saw the older girl leading the Manticore away from Reyna.

"I established an empathy link with you, so I could find out where you were. We are connected now. So get up and destroy that Manticore for me, got it?" Hedge explained.

"What's an empathy link?" Reyna questioned.

"It doesn't matter cupcake. Now, I want you to get to work," Hedge said. Reyna nodded and finished standing. Hedge turned back towards the older girl. The older girl was fighting a losing battle.

"Vera!" the younger girl cried. She tried to sit up but looked sick. Reyna cursed and slammed into the Manticore with all her strength.

Hedge's concentration broke, and his eye's snapped open. He grimly looked at Hylla who watched him closely. Frank was blushing as he slowly stood. He shot an apologetic look towards Aurum for tripping over him.

"Do you know where she is?" Hylla demanded.

"I know where she is. She is in trouble too. Reyna is fighting with two others against a Manticore," Hedge responded. Someone could hand him a map, and he would not be able to point out the location. He could just sense where Reyna was.

"Reyna is fighting with two others?" Hylla asked.

"Yeah," Hedge confirmed.

"How is she?" Hylla questioned. Hedge looked at her deciding how to answer.

"Her armor is pretty banged up and so is she," Hedge responded.

"Banged up how?" Hylla demanded. Hedge supplied no response. Hylla glared.

"We should be able to shadow travel," Nico interrupted as he stood. Hylla stood as well and looked at Nico. Hedge joined them in standing.

"We should go as soon as possible," Hylla muttered trying to keep her cool. Nico motioned for Hedge and Hylla to grab his hand.

"Who else is coming with?" Hazel asked standing.

"I will," Annabeth volunteered standing.

"I should go too," Piper said. "There is the possibility that I can talk Doris down."

"We shouldn't waste anymore time. You guys can try and salvage the party," Hylla said.

"Reyna's party will be the best that she has ever had," Percy promised.

"I hope so," Hylla muttered more to herself than anyone. She looked at Nico and nodded to let her know she was ready. Nico made sure everyone was holding hands. Percy turned off the lights.

"Do we have enough shadows?" Annabeth asked after nothing happened.

"Something is stopping us from shadow traveling," Nico answered.

"What in Bellona's name could stop us from shadow traveling?" Hylla demanded.

"I think we can shadow travel anywhere except for where Reyna is," Hazel replied. Percy turned the lights back on. Hazel and Nico looked at each other. Hylla paced angrily.

"Should we shadow travel to Camp Half-Blood?" Percy wondered.

"I think that would be the wisest choice," Annabeth answered. She looked at Hylla. Hylla looked at her and nodded.

"Let's go and find my sister," Hylla said with a determined look.


	10. X

**Happy Thanksgiving to all of my readers who celebrate it.  
><strong>

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><p>If Reyna had to pick what the worst part of her day was, it would be having her nose broken twice. The small amount of nectar Vera gave her had healed her nose. Vera must have also been kind enough to pop Reyna's nose back into place before doing so.<p>

Her nose had been broken again by the Manticore knocking her feet out from under her. Reyna had fallen right on her face. The force of the fall broke her nose a second time. Vera had attacked the Manticore, so Reyna could scramble to her feet.

It was almost funny. Reyna could handle stab wounds and even other broken bones. A broken nose seemed to be her kryptonite. There was something about the pain that disoriented her.

Reyna regained her senses the second she heard Candice cry out in pain. The three of them had attacked one after the other. The silent plan was to leave the Manticore no room to counterattack. Plans rarely went the way they were suppose to.

Reyna underestimated the speed and accuracy of the Manticore. The monster easily turned the tables causing the three to go on the defensive. Reyna slipped up first when she allowed the Manticore to knock her off her feet.

Candice probably looked at Reyna too long and took a spike to the shoulder. Reyna knew the spikes were poisonous. The Manticore also had an unending supply of them. Reyna thought how useful it would be to have something like that.

Reyna jumped on the offensive attacking the Manticore. The monster turned his full attention on her which meant Vera could get to Candice. Reyna's offense consisted of attacking the Manticore whenever she could and dodging the spikes at all costs.

Hedge had then decided to create an empathy link and inform Reyna about it in the middle of the fight. Reyna still did not understand what it was. The one thing she did understand was that Hedge's life was now in her hands. She reminded herself to kick Hedge in his furry behind.

Now, Reyna was regretting slamming into the Manticore. She had done it to distract the monster and allow Vera to move. Reyna quickly rolled away to the side of the daughter of Mars. Vera's stomach had been grazed by one of the spikes. Reyna started to realize their situation was hopeless.

The Manticore seemed to have all of his strength despite the numerous cuts all over him. It pissed Reyna off. Vera and her were fighting with all their strength, and it was doing nothing.

"Vera, you need to get Candice and leave," Reyna ordered as she moved to Vera's side. The Manticore had backed off slightly waiting for an opening.

"If the Manticore kills you, I won't be able to beat your face in later," Vera muttered. Reyna hoped she was joking.

"What do you suggest we do then?" Reyna asked angrily. Vera didn't respond. Reyna gripped the dagger and looked around. "You need to pick up Candice and run."

"I already told you no," Vera spat.

"I have a plan," Reyna whispered. "I need the Manticore to follow me. Do you remember where we met Lelantos?"

"You want me to find a safe place then you meet you there?" Vera questioned. Reyna nodded. Vera studied her for a moment. "Stay safe."

Vera quickly moved to Candice's side. She scooped the young girl up in her arms. Reyna glared at the Manticore as Vera ran off carrying Candice.

"It has been a long time since I killed a Roman," the Manticore commented. Reyna backed up towards the tree. She reached one hand behind her feeling for one of the spikes. Her hand tightened around it.

"I have not fought or killed a Manticore," Reyna said. She pulled the spike out careful not to move much. "Yet."

Reyna threw the spike with all her strength. She wasted no time as she turned and ran. Reyna, weaving between the trees, heard the Manticore give chase. Everything was going according to the plan. It only made sense for it to fall apart.

Reyna's foot suddenly caught on a tree root, and she fell to the ground. She landed on her injured knee and cried out in pain. Reyna wanted to lay on the ground and curl up. Taking deep breaths, the daugher of Bellona forced herself to stand.

The Manticore seemed to smirk realizing his prey was injured. Reyna turned and leaned on the tree she had tripped on. She gripped the dagger looking around.

"I don't have anything to offer you Lelantos," Reyna prayed under her breath. "Please just let your trap work."

Reyna looked around. She found the bear trap that she was looking for. It was the same one Vera had been caught in. Reyna looked back at the Manticore.

The Manticore wasted no time in lunging at her. Reyna dove to the side and cursed in pain. She turned towards the Manticore. There was no time to react as another spike flew at her.

Reyna felt the spike hit her injured knee. The pain didn't kick in until a few moments later. Reyna bit her hand dropping to her good knee.

"You managed to survive longer than most. Congratulations," The Manticore taunted. He slowly moved towards her. Reyna couldn't even think because of the pain.

"Who were the half-bloods you fought?" Reyna asked trying to buy time. Her voice sounded weak even to herself.

"Perseus Jackson and Thalia Grace. It is not hard to imagine you are underwhelming compared to them," The Manticore replied. Reyna closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She opened them and moved herself back slightly.

Reyna slowly forced herself to stand. She threw her dagger and watched as it hit the Manticore hilt first. The Manticore seemed disappointed before he lunged. Reyna forced herself not to move.

The Manticore slammed into her with all of his force. Reyna gasped in pain but heard the sound of a bear trap closing around the monster's leg. The Manticore stared at the trap. Reyna grabbed the spike from her knee and stabbed it into the Manticore's chest.

"Thank you," Reyna whispered as the Manticore disintegrated. She felt something land on her chest. It was the end of the Manticore's scorpion tail. She threw it into the air and watched it disappear. She could only hope Lelantos liked the tribute.

Reyna closed her eyes and placed a hand to her knee. She doubted she could walk. Reyna laid there a few moments before she turned on her side.

Reyna managed to stay awake mostly because of the loud thunder in the distance. Rain would be nice. She heard footsteps and figured they belonged to Vera. Reyna finally opened her eyes and looked up.

"What do we have here?" Doris wondered as she looked down at Reyna with a smirk.

* * *

><p><strong>I would like to take a moment to give special thanks everyone who has followed, favorited, reviewed, or even just read this story. When I first started this, it was an idea I could not get out of my head. I had no clue where I was going. Now, I know exactly what the final destination is. I hope everyone who enjoys this story continues to enjoy it. Thank you once again.<strong>


	11. XI

"Reyna is missing?" Chiron asked quietly looking at Hylla and Annabeth. He looked at the campers who held bows. Annabeth knew Chiron was teaching some of the less experienced campers how to properly fire a bow.

"We know where Reyna is. The only problem is we cannot shadow travel there," Hylla muttered. She seemed more agitated.

"Hedge made an empathy link with her. We were going to have him take us there, but the plan fell apart when we couldn't shadow travel. We told Hedge to stay behind and relax while we talk to you," Annabeth added.

"Campers, you are going to continue practicing. Remember to fully draw the string back before you fire," Chiron instructed. He walked away with Annabeth and Hylla. Annabeth explained the events of the day. Chiron listened silently as he led them to the Big House.

"Do you know why we were unable to shadow travel to where Reyna is?" Hylla demanded. Chiron motioned for them to sit. Hylla slowly sat down staring at the table. Annabeth sat next to her.

"You were able to shadow travel here?" Chiron asked.

"We could shadow travel anywhere but where Hedge sensed Reyna is," Hylla grumbled.

"I have never heard an instance of shadow traveling being blocked," Chiron commented rubbing his chin. They heard the sound of footsteps, and Annabeth turned. She saw a boy about eleven being led by a satyr.

"Grover?" Annabeth asked standing. Grover smiled at her, and the two hugged. Annabeth pulled away looking at the boy next to Grover. The boy was staring at Chiron.

"A Centaur?" the boy asked shocked.

"Yes. You must be the half-blood Grover told me about. Welcome," Chiron greeted. The boy nodded staring in amazement.

"We would have made it sooner, but something really weird happened. It was like we could not walk into part of the forest," Grover said.

"What happened when you tried to?" Hylla questioned sitting forward.

"It was like walking into a wall. The air itself seemed to push back at us," Grover replied.

"Chiron, could Nemesis do something like that?" Annabeth asked. Chiron shook his head.

"Grover, please give our new camper a tour," Chiron said. Grover nodded leading the boy away. Annabeth looked at Chiron.

"I have never heard of a power like that. It does not seem like something Nemesis would do," Chiron commented.

"I am tired of not knowing," Hylla muttered. She crossed her arms glaring at the table.

"Do we have four for Pinochle?" Dionysus questioned walking outside. He sat near Chiron and waved his hand. A diet coke appeared in front of him. He took a sip.

"Lord Dionysus," Hylla started sitting forward slightly. "Could you help us with a problem?"

"I could help you. Will I help you? That matter is up for debate. Why did Zeus send me back here?" Dionysus asked Chiron.

"To serve out your punishment" Chiron replied passing out the cards.

"Bah! I enjoyed my freedom away from here," Dionysus said.

"My sister is missing and in trouble," Hylla snapped.

"You would be wise to watch who you speak to," Dionysus warned giving her a look. Hylla glared for a moment before averting her eyes.

"It is most curious," Chiron said quickly. "Grover reported that he could not walk into a certain part of the forest where Reyna seems to be."

"The praetor?" Dionysus asked sounding bored.

"Yes sir," Hylla muttered.

"I know part of the forest was closed off for Zeus' monster trapper to work on his contraptions. It was closed off a hour ago," Dionysus said taking another sip of his diet coke. He stared at his cards.

"That could be why we can't shadow travel there," Nico commented walking towards them. Will Solace followed behind smiling.

"If we can't get in, could Reyna get out?" Annabeth wondered. Dionysus shrugged.

"We possess no way to get into that part of the forest. We are back to square freaking one," Hylla grumbled.

"There has to be a way to get into that part of the forest," Annabeth reassured.

"We could find whoever set the barrier and talk to them. Do you know who the trapper is?" Nico asked.

"A Titan," Dionysus replied and smiled. "I believe I win."

"Great. Can we get back to the conversation?" Hylla grumbled laying her own cards down. Dionysus glared at Hylla's cards.

"That is a winning hand," Dionysus said.

"I do not care about a winning hand. I just want to help my sister," Hylla snapped.

"What kind of world do we live in when young people do not care about winning Pinochle?" Dionysus asked himself. He looked directly at Hylla. "You should always care about a winning hand, especially if you do not realize you have one."

Hylla remained silent as she stood. She walked away. Annabeth followed her.

"We could go back to the others and tell them what we know," Annabeth suggested.

"Maybe, it would be better if we went to where the van is wrecked. There is the possibility we could find the trapper around there," Nico said. He fell in step with them.

Annabeth glanced at Hylla. Hylla stared straight ahead and walked. She seemed lost in her own world.

"What do you think?" Annabeth asked her.

"We need to find Reyna. We owe it to her and Hedge," Hylla muttered. She walked till they were on the beach. Hylla sat down and looked up at the sky.

"Reyna loves the rain," Hylla muttered to no one in particular. Annabeth sat by her. Nico stood to the side awkwardly.

"Reyna is going to be fine," Annabeth promised. Hylla stared up at the cloudy sky. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

"Am I interrupting something?" a voice asked. Hylla's eyes snapped open. She looked at the Iris message in front of her and glared. Doris smiled triumphantly. There was something off about her.

"What do you want Doris?" Hylla growled.

"What do I want? My queen, I do not desire anything other than your attention," Doris responded with a smirk plastered onto her face.

"I am not in the mood for your insane ranting," Hylla spat raising her hand to cut the connection.

"I thought you would want to see your sister," Doris said. Hylla froze. Annabeth stared at the Iris message. Doris smirked and pulled Reyna to her feet.

"Let my sister go!" Hylla snapped. She stared at Reyna's bloody and pained face. Doris shoved Reyna into a tree. Reyna sat against the tree staring up at the Iris message as if it was not real.

"I think I would rather kill your sister," Doris spat.

"Doris do not do this," Hylla said quickly. "You can walk free if you just let my sister go."

"Shut up Hylla. It is your fault my sister was killed. I think it is time for revenge!" Doris spat. Hylla glared at her shaking in anger.

"Do not lay a hand on my sister!" Hylla yelled. Doris turned and kicked Reyna hard in the face. Reyna's head bounced off the tree and fresh blood trickled from her nose.

"I didn't lay a hand on her," Doris sneered.

"I am going to kill you Doris," Hylla swore. Doris smirked but suddenly looked past the Iris message.

"Vera?" Doris asked. Vera stepped into Hylla's view and looked at Reyna.

"I see you found the prisoner," Vera commented. Reyna looked up at them painfully. She placed a hand to her nose.

"Where were you?" Doris demanded as she turned on Vera.

"Vera, you cannot allow Doris to do this," Hylla pleaded.

"We were going to remove you from power. The death of your sister would have set everything in motion. Queen Hylla, please forgive me for plotting against you," Vera said. Vera grabbed her sword from her side

"You traitor!" Doris spat backing up. She grabbed her own sword.

"You had the chance to save Kallie," Vera growled. She stepped in front of Reyna.

"So be it Vera," Doris spat. She looked back at the Iris message raising her sword. "Enjoy your last view of your sister."

Hylla watched as Doris ended the Iris message. Annabeth looked at her. Hylla seemed strangely calm.

"Hylla, are you alright?" Annabeth asked.

"I am fine," Hylla confirmed. "On the other hand, Doris is a dead bitch."


	12. XII

Annabeth glanced at Nico as he leaned on a tree. He looked tired from shadow traveling. Annabeth smiled slightly at him before looking at Hylla.

"I am sorry it came to this Kallie," Hylla whispered as she dealt next to the dead rogue Amazon. Hylla sighed and looked around. She stood and walked towards Nico. "Can you walk?"

"I'll be fine," Nico promised standing straight. Hylla nodded looking up at the sky. The three had shadow traveled to where Nico had found the overturned van.

"What is your plan?" Annabeth asked Hylla.

"I am going to jog until I run into a wall of air," Hylla responded. She looked back at Nico and Annabeth. "You two can stay here."

"No way. I am going to help you find Reyna. I will even race you," Nico challenged.

"There is no way a boy will beat me," Hylla said. Nico gave her a look like challenge accepted. The two took off running. Annabeth smiled to herself before she followed behind them.

Hylla easily overtook Nico, but Annabeth knew it did not matter. Nico was doing his best to distract the queen of the Amazons. It seemed to be working.

Hylla stopped jogging when she felt she had put enough distance between her and Nico. She waited for the two as she leaned on a tree. Nico made it a few moments before Annabeth.

"Thanks Nico," Hylla said. Nico nodded with a small smile. Hylla looked around trying to decide where to go. She finally started walking in one direction.

"How is it being the queen of the Amazons?" Annabeth wondered as she followed Hylla.

"I like it. It is always nice to have men feed me grapes as I sit on my throne," Hylla joked with a small smile. She sighed and nervously tapped her fingers against her leg. "It can be challenging at times. You always need to be the strongest."

"How do you think they are doing with decorations?" Annabeth asked.

"Did you set a timer for the cake?" Nico questioned.

"No. Do you think they could burn the cake?" Annabeth wondered.

"Can you burn a cake?" Hylla asked. "It seems like it would dry up."

"If Piper was not there, I would think that the boys would end up catching the cake on fire," Nico commented.

"They are not that bad," Annabeth protested. Nico gave her a look. Annabeth looked at Hylla.

Hylla seemed more nervous with each step she took. She hid it well, but her fingers tapping her legs as she walked gave it away. Annabeth gently nudged her.

"I know you are worried about Reyna," Annabeth said softly. Hylla remained silent. "Do you think Doris will do anything?"

"She will kill Reyna," Hylla muttered. Annabeth looked away. "Doris wants revenge though. She will make sure I can watch it happen."

Annabeth nodded, and they continued to walk. Nico had suggested that they go back and get Hedge. Hylla shot the suggestion down immediately.

Hylla argued that Hedge had told them where Reyna was. They would only waste time in going back for Hedge especially since they knew that the path was being blocked. Annabeth had tried to tell her that Hedge could lead them. Hylla looked her right in the eye and promised she could find her little sister.

"Do we have a plan for when we reach where our path is being blocked?" Annabeth asked.

"I was going to slam into it," Hylla muttered. She took a deep breath.

"I doubt that will work," Nico said. Hylla shrugged and suddenly stumbled back. Annabeth stopped walking, and she frowned. She slowly reached her hand out, and it felt like she was touching a wall that pushed back on her.

"I think we found the block," Hylla commented. She reached her hand out again.

"Does running into it still seem like a good idea?" Nico asked. Hylla glared ahead. The air blocked anything from entering. If Annabeth focused, she could see the air circling quickly. Hylla backed up and slammed into the wall of air shoulder first.

Hylla bounced off and hit the ground. She growled and cursed to herself. Annabeth helped her up.

"Why is this here?" Hylla snapped.

"I created it to keep the monsters in," a figure behind them answered. Annabeth turned and examined the figure. The air made the faint outline of a man.

"Why would you need to keep monsters in?" Annabeth questioned backing up. The figure studied them.

"The daughter of Bellona used a cell phone in the middle of the forest. I am sure you were warned that a cell phone is a monster beacon. I set a perimeter, so no monsters could get out," the figure explained.

"And, nothing can get in," Hylla muttered. The figure studied her.

"What is the queen of the Amazons doing out here?" the figure wondered.

"I am looking for my sister," Hylla replied.

"Lelantos?" Nico suddenly asked.

"Is this the Titan we were told about?" Annabeth questioned.

"Yeah. He helped me out. It was a year ago I think," Nico explained with a small smile. "Are you the one who Zeus put in charge of trapping?"

"It was either to do that or endure some other punishment," Lelantos responded turning towards Hylla. He sighed, and the air itself seemed to sigh. The wall of air seemed to stop suddenly. Annabeth felt a gentle breeze as the air moved towards the figure.

Annabeth could see the Titan more clearly now. He was wearing a cloak that obscured most of his features. She could see his eyes which were amused. The cloak blended in with the shadows.

"Are we allowed to go?" Hylla asked looking at Lelantos. The Titan studied them silently.

"If your sister survives, I would like for you to send her my regards. She was very kind in the tribute she gave me," Lelantos said. He melted into the shadows. Hylla nodded and looked at Annabeth and Nico.

"We should hurry," Nico commented.

"Where are we going?" Annabeth asked. Hylla closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She opened her eyes and took off jogging in one direction. Nico and Annabeth glanced at each other but followed.

Hylla jogged like a woman possessed. She kept a steady pace and made no noise as she breathed. She suddenly stopped. Annabeth barely stopped herself from bumping into Hylla.

"Do not say another word," Doris spat. Annabeth recognized her cruel voice from the Iris messages. Hylla slipped into the shadows looking into the clearing.

Annabeth moved into the shadows next to her and examined the situation. She saw a young girl sitting next to another girl.

"Candice is the young one, and the other is Vera," Hylla whispered. Annabeth strained to hear her. Vera was curled up with a small pool of blood forming under her. Candice was trying to stop Vera's stomach from bleeding.

Annabeth felt Hylla tense. She looked at Hylla before looking across the clearing. Doris was walking away from another figure on the ground. Annabeth almost gasped as she saw Reyna.

Reyna was laying on the ground with her eyes focused on it. A sword had been stabbed into her knee. The sword was pushed into the ground effectively pinning Reyna's knee. The praetor had still managed to turn on her side.

Hylla stared at Reyna. Hylla's hands drifted towards her knives as her attention turned towards Doris. Annabeth watched the rogue Amazon grab a golden drachma from Vera's backpack. Doris walked towards Reyna with a sadistic smirk.

"I think it is time we send an Iris message to your sister and end this," Doris spat. Hylla glanced at Annabeth.

"You help Vera. I am going to deal with Doris," Hylla ordered in a quiet voice. She stepped into the clearing.


	13. XIII

**Thank you for all the reviews, follows, and favorites.**

* * *

><p>"You traitor!" Doris spat backing up. She grabbed her sword from her sheathe. Vera held her sword in a defensive stance. Past the two was an Iris message that showed Hylla's face.<p>

Reyna knew the look of calmness on Hylla's face. It was same look that Hylla had when Reyna insisted they part ways once they escaped the pirates. She also had that look when she faced down the pirates and got the scar on her head. The look meant that Hylla was going to kill someone.

"You had the chance to save Kallie," Vera growled. She stepped in front of Reyna.

"So be it Vera," Doris spat. She took the time to look back at the Iris message. She raised her sword. "Enjoy your last view of your sister."

Doris cut through the Iris message ending it. She looked back at Vera. Raising her sword, she spat at Vera's feet.

"We do not have to fight Doris," Vera growled. She sounded reluctant.

"Shut up Vera! You made your bed by defending the praetor. I will end you quickly," Doris sneered. She attacked Vera.

Reyna had to admit that the fight was beautiful. Doris and Vera seemed to know what the other would do. They blocked everything, and neither could get an edge over the other. That was when bad luck struck.

Vera had stepped back after blocking an attack. She slipped on a tree branch and fell backwards. Doris wasted no time in pinning Vera.

Reyna wanted to help. Her knee refused to support her weight, and her head ached miserably. She was seeing double of everything. Doris had given her a few kicks to the head before sending the Iris message to Hylla.

"Why did you betray me?" Doris spat angrily. She placed her sword to Vera's neck.

"You think I betrayed you?" Vera demanded. "You stabbed Lulu in the back! You were just using our beliefs in Otrera for your own, selfish desires!"

"We were going to have a champion for us Vera," Doris said.

"Do not lie to me. The praetor told me everything," Vera spat. Doris tensed and looked back at Reyna.

"Vera, we can still do this together," Doris began.

"I know better than to believe you. I should have seen how poorly put together all of your plans were. You probably made it up as we went along," Vera growled.

Reyna painfully tried to stand, but her knee refused to support any of her weight. Reyna put a hand to her head and tried to ignore the aching.

"Are you really going to throw away everything that we have done?" Doris asked. Her voice seemed to be pleading.

"You are slipping Doris. It all started when your sister died. Is the Doris who I used to train with there?" Vera asked.

"Shut up," Doris spat. She grabbed Vera's sword and stood. She walked towards Reyna.

"You lost your sanity Doris. Let me and Candice help you get it back," Vera pleaded.

"Shut up!" Doris yelled again. She turned on Vera angrily.

"It is Hylla's fault that my sister is dead! Have you ever heard of the phrase an eye for an eye Vera?" Doris asked. Vera nodded and slowly sat up. "Blood must be repaid in blood, Vera. My sister's blood must be repaid in the blood of Hylla's sister."

Vera remained silent. Doris turned back towards Reyna and pulled her up. Reyna hissed in pain. Doris smirked studying her.

"What will you accomplish by killing her?" Vera wondered.

"My mother is about vengeance. This is revenge," Doris said placing a sword against Reyna's stomach. Reyna kept her breathing even. She stared ahead keeping her face clear of emotion.

"Your mother is also about balance," Vera growled. Doris let go of Reyna turning towards Vera. Reyna instantly collapsed to one knee. She used one hand to balance herself.

"I am bringing balance by righting a wrong," Doris calmly said.

"You cannot begin to bring balance when you yourself are unbalanced Doris!" Vera hissed moving in between Doris and Reyna.

"How am I unbalanced?" Doris demanded.

"You have lost it Doris!" Vera yelled. As Vera yelled, she dropped a dagger behind her. Her yelling disguised the noise. Reyna silently grabbed the dagger and moved it out of sight.

"Vera, you need to back off," Doris warned. Vera glared at her before sighing. She nodded slightly and stepped to the side.

"I know you want revenge. But, I left Candice alone to find you. We should retrieve her," Vera said.

"Candice is safe?" Doris asked.

"She is a few minutes that way," Vera promised pointing. Doris grabbed Reyna's arm and shoved her forward. Reyna cursed as she almost collapsed. Vera caught her.

"Can you walk?" Vera whispered in her ear. Reyna shook her head slightly.

"Are we going or not?" Doris asked impatiently.

"We should just leave the praetor here. It is not like she can walk," Vera said.

"That is true," Doris muttered. She quietly sheathed her sword with one hand. The other hand held Vera's sword. Reyna gritted her teeth as Doris turned her around.

"Are you going to be a good little praetor if I leave you here?" Doris taunted.

"Go to Tartarus," Reyna muttered. Doris slammed the hilt of the sword into Reyna's face and shoved her down. The daughter of Bellona put one hand to her face, and she gasped as Doris kicked her in her injured knee.

"Lay there like a good little praetor," Doris spat. Reyna gritted her teeth in pain and glared. Doris led Vera away.

Reyna closed her eyes as she laid there. There was no way she could walk with her knee like it was. She gripped the dagger Vera had given her.

"I need a plan," Reyna whispered to herself. She slowly turned on her back staring at the sky. Small raindrops fell from the sky and hit her face. Reyna allowed herself to enjoy the rain for a few moments. She finally sat up.

Reyna, after taking a deep breath, scooted towards a tree. She sat against it examining the dagger. She could tell it was made by the Amazons. The hilt was too heavy for her to throw without thought.

The rain started to fall faster. Reyna pulled her cloak over herself hiding the dagger. She allowed herself to relax. It was not long before she heard footsteps.

"Can we get this over with, so we can go?" Vera grumbled. She was carrying an unconscious Candice in her arms.

"We will go soon. Can you lay Candice down over there?" Doris asked. Vera sighed but nodded. She turned away from Doris and laid Candice down.

Doris smirked at her. She was still holding Vera's sword. Vera smiled down at Candice and stood. She turned towards Doris.

Doris stabbed Vera in the gut. Vera gasped and slowly looked down at the sword. Doris kicked Vera off the sword and watched her collapse.

Reyna gripped the dagger and slowly tried to stand. She was still seeing double. Doris turned around and looked right at Reyna. With a small grunt, Reyna threw her dagger.

The throw was perfect. Reyna should have hit Doris right in the head. The only problem was Reyna's concussion. Her seeing double caused the dagger to completely miss where Doris' head actually was. The dagger hit where Reyna thought Doris' head was.

"Are you having problems seeing correctly?" Doris sneered walking towards Reyna.

"Doris, what are you doing?" a small voice asked. Doris froze and turned. She looked at Candice who was staring wide eyed. She had woken up as Reyna threw the dagger.

"Candice, it is not what it looks like," Doris began. Candice looked at Vera before looking at Doris. She looked at the sword with a look of terror taking over her face.

Reyna wasted no time. She tackled Doris from behind. The sword in Doris' hand slid away.

"There should be nectar in Vera's backpack. Give it to her," Reyna hissed wrapping one arm around Doris' neck. She started to choke Doris.

Candice stared in shock before she slowly reached into Vera's backpack. Reyna looked away from the young girl focusing on her task. She tried to tighten her grip.

"I am not dying like this," Doris hissed. She tried to move, but Reyna did not allow her to.

"I do not plan on killing you," Reyna growled painfully. Doris crawled forward. Reyna closed her eyes trying to focus. Doris' breathing became ragged.

"I will not go like this," Doris promised. Reyna opened her eyes to see Doris' hands close around the dagger she had thrown. Doris stabbed Reyna in her injured knee.

Reyna lost her grip instantly. She had no time to cry out before she found herself on her back. Doris pinned Reyna gasping for breath.

"You stupid bitch!" Doris gasped. She coughed and rubbed her neck. Reyna slowly looked at Candice who stared.

"Doris, stop!" Candice cried.

"I want you to stay out of this," Doris snapped at her. Candice stared before looking down at Vera. She quietly helped Vera shaking in fear.

"I cannot wait to kill you," Doris spat. Reyna glared up at her. Doris grabbed the dagger from Reyna's knee. Reyna hissed in agony.

Doris smirked and stabbed Reyna's injured knee again. Reyna bit her tongue to keep from making any noise. Doris stood and walked towards Candice.

"Is Vera dead?" Doris asked not sounding concerned.

"She needs help Doris. She can't last much longer," Candice mumbled looking down at Vera.

"That would be such a shame if she did not last," Doris muttered. Vera slowly looked up at her hatefully. She laid curled up on the ground.

"Doris, you have to help her!" Candice cried.

"I do not have to do anything," Doris spat. She grabbed her fallen sword and walked towards Reyna. Doris stepped on Reyna's leg.

"You are insane," Reyna growled painfully. She stared ahead trying to ignore the pain. Doris grabbed the dagger once again tearing it out.

"I wonder if you will be able to walk again." Doris taunted. She rested the sword on Reyna's injured knee. Reyna closed her eyes tightly.

"Doris! Stop hurting her," Candice pleaded.

"Shut up!" Doris snapped. She stabbed Reyna in her knee with the sword. Reyna cried out and bit her hand. Doris smirked and looked down at her.

"Just let Candice and Vera go," Reyna muttered weakly realizing she had failed. There was no way she could fight her way out of her predicament.

"Do not say another word," Doris spat. She walked towards Vera and knelt next to her. Doris paid no attention to her former ally as she dug through Vera's backpack. She pulled out the golden drachma and smirked.

Reyna stared at the ground not moving. She glanced at Vera seeing how pale the girl was. Vera needed immediate attention, or she would not make it.

"I think it is time we send an Iris message to your sister and end this," Doris spat walking back towards Reyna.

"You could just talk to her in person," Hylla growled as she walked out of the shadows.


	14. XIV

Hylla almost enjoyed the look of shock on Doris' face. Doris stared for a few moments before backing up. Reyna slowly looked at Hylla surprised.

Annabeth and Nico hurried to Vera's side. Vera was pale, and Hylla doubted she would make it. Hylla pushed the thought aside focusing on Doris.

Doris looked around with panic in her eyes. Doris was an opportunist. She always needed the advantage in a fight.

"You can back down now Doris," Hylla warned.

"Shut up!" Doris spat looking even more panicked. She suddenly pulled a phone from her pocket. "I think your sister remembers this. She used the same thing on us. If you take another step forward, I will call a random number, and monsters will attack."

"You think I am scared of a phone?" Hylla growled.

"How would you protect everyone here? Your two friends would be preoccupied with Vera and Candice. The monsters will keep you distracted while I slit your sister's throat," Doris spat.

Hylla glared but did not move. She quietly assessed the situation. Nico caught her eyes then looked back at Vera.

"Nico, can you shadow travel Vera out of here?" Hylla asked.

"I can," Nico said but his eyes were trying to tell her something. Hylla remembered Reyna telling her about her adventures with Nico and how it had exhausted him.

"That would leave you one down," Doris taunted.

"You can only shadow travel one more time?" Hylla questioned ignoring Doris. Nico nodded silently. "Then, I want you to shadow travel to Camp Half-Blood with Vera, Annabeth, and Candice."

"Hylla," Annabeth started.

"Doris only wants me and Reyna. Vera needs immediate help. Go," Hylla ordered. Annabeth looked down but grabbed Nico's hand. She placed her other hand on Candice's shoulder. Nico shifted into the shadows as he placed a hand on Vera's shoulder.

Hylla looked past Doris focusing on Reyna. Her little sister slowly reached out towards a dagger. The blade of the dagger was covered in blood. Hylla did not have to guess who the blood belonged to.

"That was stupid of you Hylla," Doris commented with a smirk. "Your two friends left you. Your poor, little sister cannot fight. What are you going to do?"

"What are you going to do Doris? We are an even match," Hylla spat.

"Actually, I have the upper hand. You want to defend your sister. I still have the phone. Are you ready to face a horde of monsters?" Doris jeered. She made a big show of raising the phone.

"Doris," Hylla warned.

"You could try getting on your knees," Doris taunted. She held the phone with her hand covering the bottom. She seemed confident that Hylla wouldn't take another step forward.

"You wanted revenge on me. That is why you went through all of this. If you want revenge so badly, you can come and get it," Hylla challenged.

"Are you trying to bait me?" Doris asked. She hummed to herself slowly typing a number into the phone as she held it up. Hylla started to raise her knife. The phone suddenly flew from Doris' hand.

Doris stared at the phone in surprise. A dagger was buried into the phone. Hylla smirked as she stepped forward.

"I was aiming for your head," Reyna said slowly sitting up. Doris looked back and forth between the two daughters of Bellona.

"This is not right!" Doris screeched. "I had everything planned perfectly."

"Plans never go right," Hylla said. She took another step forward.

"Your sister is coming with me!" Doris spat. She turned towards Reyna and lunged downwards with her sword. Reyna threw her cloak over herself. Doris' sword shattered against the cloak.

"What? How?" Doris demanded stumbling back shocked. She was bleeding from places where pieces of her sword had hit her as it shattered.

Hylla grabbed Doris and turned her around. She stabbed Doris in the stomach. Doris stared at the knife before looking at Hylla hatefully.

"You deserve so much worse. First, you attacked a praetor of new Rome. After that, you killed two of your fellow sisters and attempted to murder Vera. It is not my place to judge you though," Hylla said.

"Are you weak like your sister?" Doris spat.

"Reyna is not weak," Hylla said sounding tired. She pulled the knife out. Doris gasped in pain and looked at her. Hylla brought her knife to Doris' neck. She closed her eyes and finished the job.

Reyna slowly turned on her back. She watched Hylla gently lay Doris' body on the ground. Hylla walked towards Reyna with a mixture of relief and sadness.

"Hey," Reyna mumbled tiredly. Hylla knelt next to her and sat her up. Reyna leaned on her older sister.

"How did you manage to get yourself hurt so badly?" Hylla asked. Reyna mumbled something tiredly. "Hey, no passing out on me."

"Sleep sounds nice," Reyna commented. Hylla gently wiped blood from Reyna's face. She examined her. Reyna winced as Hylla gently put her hands to her nose.

"Your nose is crooked," Hylla muttered. She tried to focus on Reyna.

"It was worse earlier," Reyna said.

"What happened," Hylla asked. Reyna started to explain. About a minute into her story, Hylla moved Reyna's nose back into its correct alignment

"Ow! Hylla!" Reyna complained.

"Continue your story," Hylla said. Reyna slowly continued her story. Hylla wiped more blood away from Reyna's face. The rain helped to get rid of some of the dried blood.

Reyna finished her story. Hylla looked at her younger sister without any emotion. To anyone else, it would look like Hylla didn't care. Hylla was only trying to stay calm and collected. She figured that her and her younger sister wore that look every day.

"Why were you with Annabeth and Nico?" Reyna questioned. Her voice barely had any strength in it.

"I sensed you were in danger. I knew you were delivering weapons to Camp Half-Blood, so I went there for help," Hylla replied moving her hands to Reyna's knee. She gently moved the sword out of the ground being careful not to jerk Reyna's knee.

Hylla wanted to clean the sword before she removed it from Reyna's knee. She did not want to cause her younger sister to get an infection. The only problem was that the sword was muddy which meant it would be harder to clean.

"Annabeth and Nico were there, so I asked for help," Hylla lied. She did her best to clean the sword before looking at Reyna. "Ready?"

"No," Reyna admitted. She took a deep breath as Hylla grabbed the hilt of the sword. Hylla pulled the sword out of Reyna's knee. Reyna cursed in pain, and she bit her hand to keep from crying out.

"You don't have to hide your pain from me," Hylla whispered in her sister's ear. She quietly took off her own jacket. She quickly cut off the sleeve before wrapping it around Reyna's knee. Hylla slipped her jacket back on.

Reyna slowly looked at her older sister. Hylla gently pulled Reyna close. Reyna laid her head against Hylla's chest and closed her eyes.

"If you bleed out on me, I am going to kick your ass," Hylla warned. Reyna smiled slightly. Hylla gently picked Reyna up bridal style. "Is Camp Half-Blood far?"

"It should be only a couple miles that way," Reyna mumbled pointing.

"Are you sure it is that way?" Hylla asked.

"Could be that way too," Reyna replied pointing in the other direction. Hylla smirked as she started to walk.

"Happy birthday Reyna," Hylla said glancing down at Reyna. Her younger sister was about to fall asleep. Reyna mumbled something that resembled thanks.

Hylla smiled. She just needed to get Reyna to Camp Half-Blood. She could hand Reyna off to an Apollo camper and check on Vera. After that, she would find Annabeth and make sure the party was ready to go. Reyna needed a break after what had happened.


	15. XV

The only thing that woke Reyna up was the smell of food. She had been drifting in and out of consciousness for what felt like forever. In reality, it had only been a hour or two.

Reyna, without meaning to, moaned at the smell of the food. She did not have breakfast that morning because she had been so focused on leaving as soon as possible. Someone laid the plate on a table near her bed.

"That was pretty sad," Hylla commented. Reyna slowly glanced at her older sister. Hylla had a look of relief in her eyes as she looked down at Reyna.

"What time is it?" Reyna asked. She tried to move her leg but cursed painfully.

"Why would you do that?" Hylla demanded crossing her arms.

"I thought it was healed," Reyna muttered.

"The Apollo kid, Will, healed you the best he could. They gave you as much nectar and ambrosia as they could, but you losing so much blood complicated things. Will said you still have a minor concussion, and you should not walk for a few days," Hylla explained.

"That much nectar and ambrosia plus a healer was not enough?" Reyna asked.

"Ambrosia and nectar are not miracle workers. The rest of the healers in the Apollo cabin were also busy. The Ares and Aphrodite cabin were fighting because their parents had some kind of disagreement. It broke down into a sword fight, and a few monsters got summoned," Hylla explained.

Reyna watched her sister to see if she was kidding. Hylla looked dead serious. Reyna raised an eyebrow but winced in pain.

"Will had to stitch the cut up for you. It will scar and not look as good as mine," Hylla said. Reyna groaned softly. "Oh, the time is seven."

Reyna nodded as she slowly sat up. She looked down at herself and frowned. She was wearing blacks shorts and a Camp Half-Blood t-shirt.

"This feels weird," Reyna muttered more to herself than to Hylla.

"You look good. Thanks for pulling me away from Will earlier," Hylla said.

Reyna vaguely remembered asking Hylla to help her change. Hylla had looked like she was going to rip off Will's head as he lectured her. Reyna did not remember what the lecture was about. She just knew she needed to get the two away from each other.

Reyna suggested Hylla help her clean up and change. Hylla had picked Reyna up with one arm and taken her to get cleaned up. Reyna was half awake at the time. The only thing she really remembered the numerous cuss words that had left Hylla's mouth.

"Orange is a nice color on you," Hylla commented.

"Where did my armor and cloak go?" Reyna asked with a small smile.

"The Hephaestus cabin offered to fix your armor for you. I have your cloak in a backpack of supplies Will gave me. I know how attached you are to it," Hylla replied.

"It is not often that anyone gets a gift from Minerva. Well, Athena," Reyna said. Hylla nodded.

Reyna looked down and noticed how her knee was bandaged. The bandage wrapped around her entire knee. She groaned softly as she felt it. Hylla handed her the plate of food.

"Nico offered to shadow travel us back to Camp Jupiter," Hylla said as Reyna ate. "Annabeth wanted to come with to make sure you were comfortable."

Reyna nodded distractedly. She looked around the infirmary and noticed no one else was around. She frowned.

"Did Vera make it?" Reyna asked.

"Barely," Hylla replied. She sighed and rubbed her forehead like she had a headache. "She had this really long apology that ended with her asking if she could come back to the Amazons."

"What did you say?" Reyna questioned.

"I told her that she could. She understands that she is going to be on probation though. Candice will be coming back too. Although, she almost fell in love with the camp when Annabeth gave her a tour" Hylla explained.

"Does it feel weird to be here?" Reyna asked suddenly. She looked at Hylla. "We are daughters of Bellona. Our mother is a Roman goddess with no Greek equivalent. It feels wrong to be here."

"We are all half-bloods. There is nothing weird about that," Hylla said. "Besides, I am an Amazon. You are the Roman one."

Reyna frowned and looked away. The comment hurt, and it brought her back to the day that they stood on the docks after leaving the pirate's ship. It was the same day the two separated.

"Reyna, anything wrong?" Hylla asked.

"I was just thinking," Reyna replied.

Hylla nodded studying her. They sat in silence for a few minutes. Reyna finally leaned on Hylla and closed her eyes. She started to fall asleep. Her sister nudged her.

"Are you sure there is nothing wrong?" Hylla asked. Reyna sighed and leaned back on the wall. She stared ahead unsure of how to reply.

"We are both Roman," Reyna finally said.

"Our mother may be a Roman goddess, but that does not make us Romans," Hylla said.

"How can you say that?" Reyna demanded. She felt herself tensing up.

"I am an Amazon Reyna. I have been since I joined," Hylla said.

"The Amazons are a group," Reyna countered trying to keep her calm. She felt the stress and the pent up emotions of the last five years starting to boil over.

"The Romans are also a group. I identify myself as an Amazon. I think mother will be fine with that line of thinking," Hylla countered.

"So, it is just another thing we don't have in common," Reyna muttered bitterly. Hylla looked at her crossing her arms.

"What is wrong with you?" Hylla demanded. She received no answer. "Reyna, you can talk to me."

"Can I talk to you?" Reyna hissed looking at her. "Five years ago to this day, we parted ways. You changed so much since then. I feel like I do not know you anymore."

Hylla studied Reyna through narrowed eyes. Reyna knew her sister had anger issues. Hylla was quick to lose her temper which got both of them in plenty of trouble as kids.

"How exactly did I change?" Hylla asked with an edge to her tone.

"You reclaimed a part of our past and didn't even talk to me about it," Reyna began.

"We never had time to talk!" Hylla spat. Reyna glared starting to lose her composure. "And, I think you are the one who changed dear sister."

"I changed?" Reyna asked.

"Five years ago, you were a scared little twelve year old who could not fend for herself," Hylla spat. Reyna glared gripping the bed. Hylla had struck a nerve, and she knew it.

They heard a knock on the door, and Annabeth stepped in. Annabeth lost her smile as she sensed the tension in the room. She quietly looked at Reyna.

Reyna was grateful for Annabeth walking in. The fights she had with Hylla when they were young was always intense. There was a lot of yelling, and sometimes, things were thrown. Now that they were older, she felt the situation would have broken down into a fist fight.

"I will go check on your armor," Hylla muttered glaring at Reyna. She walked out giving Annabeth a small, angry nod. Annabeth slowly looked at Reyna.

"How are you feeling?" Annabeth asked. Reyna looked away for a moment. She took a deep breath to compose herself.

"I'm fine," Reyna responded with an edge to her tone. Annabeth nodded and tossed her a water bottle. Reyna barely caught it.

"Orange is a nice color on you," Annabeth commented.

"I like purple better," Reyna muttered. She opened the water bottle and took a sip. It had been hours since she had anything to drink.

Annabeth quietly sat on the bed next to her. She remained silent. Reyna took the time to calm down Guilt started to set in.

"I'm an idiot," Reyna mumbled.

"What happened?" Annabeth asked. Reyna wanted to shut down and shove her feelings away. One glance at the daughter of Athena told her that would not be wise.

"I took my anger and stress out on Hylla," Reyna said. She gripped the water bottle wanting to take the argument back. Annabeth watcher her silently willing her to continue.

"I told her how it felt weird to be here since we were Romans. She said she was an Amazon. I pressed the issue then told her some things I should not have," Reyna continued. She looked down at the ground.

"That doesn't make you an idiot. It just makes you human," Annabeth said.

"I am a praetor. I must be more than that," Reyna mumbled. She heard the door open, and Nico walked in.

"Are we ready to go?" Nico wondered.

"Hylla should be back soon," Annabeth responded.

"We can go then. How are you feeling Reyna?" Nico asked.

"Fine," Reyna replied. There was something odd about her tone. Reyna stared at the ground. She would not admit it, but she felt totally alone at the moment.


	16. XVI

"Why are you playing poker?" Piper demanded looking at Leo. She crossed her arms tapping her foot. The boys were all sitting around the table. They were using jelly beans for betting.

"We finished decorating, and I saved the cake. I believe that we deserve a break," Leo replied.

"You should relax," Jason said. He stood and gently led Piper to a chair. Hazel shot Piper a look.

"What did Annabeth say in her Iris message?" Percy wondered.

"Annabeth updated me on Reyna's condition. She is injured, but she will be fine. There was also the incident of the Ares and Aphrodite kids fighting," Piper answered.

"The Ares kids must have creamed you guys," Leo commented looking at Piper.

"My siblings won the fight. Well, that was before the monsters got summoned," Piper explained.

"Why are they fighting? I thought your mom and Ares were in love," Percy commented. Piper shrugged and leaned on Jason. She looked at his cards.

"I leave you teenagers alone for five minutes, and now, you are gambling. Do you understand that gambling is wrong?" Hedge lectured as he walked towards them. He received a nod from Frank and Jason. Coach stood next to them. "Who is going to deal me in?"

"Hedge, how come you were able to create the empathy link when you were awake?" Percy asked. He dealt cards out to Hedge.

"I am older than your friend Grover. I do not need to sleep when I create an empathy link. All that is needed is intense concentration," Hedge explained. Percy nodded. He handed Hedge jelly beans to bet with.

Leo smirked, but they both heard the door open. Piper stared at the door thinking it was Reyna. She relaxed seeing Annabeth. Nico followed behind tiredly.

"The decorations look nice," Annabeth commented. She walked towards Percy and hugged him from behind. Laying her head on Percy's shoulder, Annabeth looked at the others. "Reyna pulled Hylla aside to talk. They should be here soon."

Leo collected the cards and stuffed some of the jelly beans into his mouth. He helped Frank clean off the table. Hazel walked towards Annabeth.

"We figured out a plan for Reyna's gift. We wanted to include you in it," Piper began. Annabeth nodded as Hazel started to explain. Aurum and Argentum suddenly moved towards the door. They sat in front of it.

"That would be our cue," Hazel said. She stood beside Piper and Annabeth. The three waited as the boys situated themselves. Jason turned the lights off.

Annabeth opened her mouth to speak up about why it would be best to turn the lights back on. The words never left her mouth as the door opened.

"Surprise!' Everyone yelled. Jason turned on the lights. Reyna winced as she blinked against the light. She looked around at them looking surprised and pained.

"What's going on?" Reyna questioned.

"A surprise party," Hylla replied. Reyna looked at Annabeth as she was led to the couch. Aurum and Argentum stayed close to their owner.

"How are you feeling?" Piper asked. Reyna looked up at her with unfocused eyes. It was easy to see that the answer should be no.

"I'm fine," Reyna responded looking at her dogs. They nuzzled against her good leg. "You guys set up a party while I was gone?"

"We could not let our favorite praetor have a birthday without a party," Frank said. He helped Jason carry chairs into the living room. Reyna smiled slightly. She scratched behind Aurum's ears.

"I assume I have you to thank," Reyna said looking at Leo.

I did not break anything," Leo promised.

"I meant for repairing Aurum," Reyna muttered rubbing her forehead.

"Of course. It wasn't that hard. I also kind of owe you for trying to destroy your city," Leo said. Reyna smiled dryly. Hylla tossed Reyna a party hat. The younger daughter of Bellona looked at it and put it on with no complaint.

"Do we have party activities planned?" Reyna asked.

"I suggested a trivia game, but that idea was shot down," Annabeth answered.

"You would dominate it," Percy commented smiling.

"We could ban Annabeth from playing," Piper suggested with a smirk. She looked at Reyna who was focused on Hylla. There was tension between the two.

"I say we eat food," Leo suggested. "Reyna can also blow out her candles."

Reyna looked at Piper silently. For a few moments, Reyna's eyes showed how pained and exhausted she was.

"We don't have to worry about the candles. You guys can just cut the cake and serve it," Reyna mumbled. She leaned back and closed her eyes. Aurum and Argentum moved closer to her.

Piper stood and helped Annabeth cut the cake. They made a plate for Reyna before allowing the horde known as teenage boys to descend upon the food.

"Thank you for doing this," Reyna said to all of them.

"It was all Hylla's idea," Piper said. Reyna looked down. Piper gave Annabeth a look and received a look that said argument.

"I couldn't have you sitting in this house all lonely," Hylla commented as she sat down. She nudged Reyna and whispered something in her ear. Reyna smiled slightly as her older sister knocked the party hat off. "You looked really ridiculous in that."

"You picked it out," Reyna countered. She leaned on her older sister. Hylla smirked and leaned back on the couch. Reyna groaned as her pillow disappeared.

"Reyna, do you like the movies?" Piper asked. Reyna looked at her before leaning back on the couch She scratched her dogs heads. Piper finally received a nod. "Hazel, Annabeth, and I plan on taking you out on an all girl's night. We want to take you to the movies and out to eat. You can come too if you want Hylla."

"If my little sister does not mind, I would like that," Hylla said.

"Are we going to see a chick flick?" Reyna asked.

"No," Piper promised.

"Thank you," Reyna said. She looked down uncomfortably. Piper could see that Reyna was not use to receiving gifts or even hanging out with friends.

"You deserve a break," Hazel said smiling at Reyna.

"What are you girls talking about?" Leo asked with a mouthful of cake. He looked over at the girls who had all crowded around Reyna.

"World domination," Piper replied. She smiled sweetly at him.

"You guys would be invincible," Nico commented as he stood next to Hazel. "Reyna and Annabeth could take over everything by brains or brawn. Piper can talk down any riots. Hazel is too nice for anyone to realize that something is wrong until you girls have taken over."

"The Amazons have already called dibs on world domination," Hylla interrupted.

"The Romans beat you to it," Jason commented walking towards the group.

"This is a girls only club," Reyna said coldly. She met his eyes and glared. Jason stopped dead in his tracks and stared. Reyna smirked.

"If it is a girls only club, how come Nico is allowed in?" Leo demanded.

"Nico is not contaminated like you boys," Hylla explained.

"We are men," Percy argued.

"I know what your pajamas look like Percy," Annabeth warned. Percy blushed and looked away.

"May I be allowed to visit the club?" Frank asked with a smile. He walked towards them tossing Reyna an envelope. Reyna caught it and opened it. She pulled out the cards that look like they came from the game Monopoly.

Reyna smirked realizing they did come from Monopoly. She was holding the get out of jail free cards. The words jail had been crossed out and replaced with praetor duties.

"Thank you Frank," Reyna said.

"You should thank Jason too. He came up with the idea. We thought you could use a break" Frank replied. Reyna smiled slightly and thanked Jason. It was clear she could use a break, and Frank was capable of taking care of their duties for one day.

"I also got you a gift," Leo began as he stood. He walked towards them pulling out an iPod. With a grin, Leo handed it to Reyna. "Do you remember that conversation we had where you told me you did not listen to a lot of music. I have the solution. There is music from every genre on there."

"Thank you Leo. Any suggestions on what I should listen to first," Reyna asked as she examined the device.

"Shuffle," Leo answered. Reyna smirked and laid the iPod on her lap. Percy walked towards her holding a blue box.

"My gift is not as good as Leo's, but I hope you like it," Percy said. He handed her the box. Reyna opened it and looked at the whistle. "I thought you would need a quick way to get in contact with Guido."

"Thank you Percy," Reyna mumbled staring at the whistle. She looked overwhelmed by all the gifts. Nico cleared his throat and grabbed the present he had wrapped off the table. He handed it to Reyna.

"I think you will enjoy mine," Nico said with a devious smirk. Reyna regarded him with suspicion. She slowly opened the gift and looked at it. It was a sheathed sword wrapped in a black cloth that was recognizable as a t-shirt. Reyna unfolded the shirt and examined it.

"Welcome to Albania," Reyna read. She glared at Nico as she blushed. It looked like Reyna was reliving a painful memory. Piper was instantly curious.

"What happened in Albania to make Reyna blush like that?" Hazel asked. The others all looked at Nico expectantly. Reyna made a point of unsheathing the sword as loud as possible.

"A silver sword," Reyna commented giving Nico a pointed look. "A sword like this is great for killing werewolves or demigods."

Aurum and Argentum stared Nico down. The son of Hades shifted before slipping back behind Hazel. Reyna sheathed the sword.

"Thank you Nico. When is your birthday?" Reyna asked. Nico cleared his throat not answering. "That does not matter. I can just make up a date and announce it in front of everyone."

"Remind me never to get on Reyna's bad side," Percy joked.

"All right. Cupcake, a sword may be nice, but what you really need is this," Hedge said. He picked up a club and walked towards Reyna. He handed it to her, and she smirked.

"I say we all take a picture," Leo suggested. He looked weary of the club Reyna was holding.

"Nico can sit next to Reyna," Jason teased. Reyna looked at Nico and patted the space next to her. Nico smirked and sat by her. Hylla moved closer to Reyna and whispered into her ear. They both laughed.

The rest of the demigods and Hedge sat on or around the couch. Leo dragged a chair in front of the couch and taped the camera to it. He pressed a button for the timer and hurried to sit by the others.

Reyna allowed herself to smile as the camera took a picture of them. She winced at the flash. Hylla wrapped an arm around Reyna and pulled her close as the camera continued to take pictures.

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><p><strong>We have one more chapter to go. Thank you for reading.<strong>


	17. XVII

The sound of laughter woke Reyna. It was the kind of laughter that had gone from snickering into full blown chuckling. It was joined by another laugh and an angry huff.

"I just don't understand why Pluto is no longer a planet. Mars is still a planet," Hazel muttered. She huffed again as she looked at the laptop.

The girls had been watching a movie on a laptop that Leo had brought. He originally planned to use the laptop to play music. The idea died quickly when he found out how bad Reyna's concussion was. Any loud noise sent a piercing pain through Reyna's skull.

Reyna slowly lifted her head from her its place on her sister's shoulder. She looked around and focused on the laptop. The video was paused on a picture of the planet Pluto.

"What's going on?" Reyna questioned. She barely managed to stifle a yawn.

"Hazel is upset that Pluto is no longer a planet," Annabeth responded. "The only reason is because it cannot clear its field of gravity."

"People always wondered what someone from the past would find as the strangest thing if they went to the future," Piper began. "I thought it would be having phones that could connect to the internet or the laptops that we have. I'm surprised that the strangest thing is Pluto not being considered a planet."

"It's so stupid. You don't just change something as big as that," Hazel said with another huff.

"You wouldn't be so mad if the planet wasn't named Pluto," Hylla interrupted. Reyna looked up at her and tried to sit up. Hylla wrapped her arm around Reyna's shoulders and pulled her back down.

"If the planet was named Bellona, would you be mad that it is no longer considered a planet?" Hazel wondered.

"That would never happen," Annabeth commented. "Bellona would make sure the planet threw a meteorite at Earth so perfectly that it squashed the scientist before they could propose it."

"Are you suggesting my mother is violent?" Hylla demanded.

"She is a goddess of war," Annabeth answered with a shrug.

"She's better than Athena," Hylla countered. Annabeth gave her a look. The queen of the Amazons smirked.

"Where did the boys go?" Reyna asked interrupting the two. The last thing her headache needed was an argument on which war goddess was better. The better goddess was Bellona of course; however, Reyna could not talk badly about the goddess who had saved her life.

"We kicked them out," Piper joked. She smiled and closed the laptop. "We mentioned a sleepover, and the boys quickly found an excuse to leave."

"The boys, except for Leo, all made some kind of horrible excuse. Leo just disappeared with a quick bye," Hazel explained smiling. Reyna nodded and tried to sit up. Her sister finally allowed her to. Hylla stood and reached a hand into her pocket. She walked away.

"What time is it?" Reyna asked tiredly.

"Midnight," Piper answered. Reyna nodded and rubbed her eyes. She felt Aurum nudge her hand. She scratched the dog under his chin. Argentum moved to her other side.

"Thank you for the party," Reyna said.

"Anytime, Reyna," Annabeth replied. Reyna looked around but frowned. She noticed a bloody rag lying on the table.

"What happened?" Reyna questioned. The other girls looked at each other as if wondering what to say. Piper finally cleared her throat.

"Frank and I were throwing away the trash. We were outside when everything suddenly became blurry. My head started pounding like I had a really bad headache. I closed my eyes. When I opened them, I was attacking Frank with a glass bottle," Piper explained.

"Frank caught the glass in his hand, and it shattered. I tried to attack him, but he pinned me. Jason and Percy came outside and broke us up. Jason dragged me back in here until I calmed down," Piper finished.

"You don't know why you attacked him?" Reyna questioned. Piper shook her head and wrung her hands. Reyna rubbed her chin thoughtfully. "Your mother is in an argument with Mars. Could that have something to do with what happened?"

"That is what I thought," Annabeth interjected. "I'm sure it will blow over though. Chiron is going to keep the cabins separate until things calm down."

"The two need to stop arguing," Hylla added as she walked back in. "It is disrupting the Amazons and some of the hunters."

"A child of Venus is in the hunters?" Reyna asked with a smirk. It was a funny though to think that a daughter of the love goddess would swear off love.

"One," Hylla answered. "Thalia and I have a close partnership ever since the incident with Orion. We have taken a few precautions and managed to find a way to get more recruits and training."

"How?" Annabeth wondered. Hylla didn't answer. She looked away with a cloudy look in her eyes. The queen of the Amazons shook her head and looked at the others. She examined them.

Reyna understood her sister's secrecy. The Hunters and Amazons had taken horrible loses. It was no wonder they wanted to keep their business private.

"We were judging your closet earlier," Piper added. Reyna looked at her and frowned. Piper smirked. "How many togas do you have?"

"Ten," Reyna replied. She slowly tried to stand. Hylla pulled her back down.

"We have a list of ground rules for you," Annabeth began.

"You have a list of rules for me?" Reyna asked raising an eyebrow. She winced in pain as she felt her stitches move.

"One, stop raising the eyebrow that has stitches," Annabeth began. Reyna crossed her arms. "Two, you are not allowed to walk anywhere."

"How am I suppose to get the things that I need?" Reyna demanded. She was annoyed, but it was touching. Reyna would never admit that out loud though.

"Piper and I will be staying with you until you are back on your feet. I have all these capture the flag plans to go over with you. Jason has control of the flag, and I thought you would want to fix that," Annabeth responded.

"Any other rules?" Reyna wondered scratching under Aurum's chin. Her dogs nudged her good leg. She smiled at them and looked back up.

"I told you she likes dogs better than people," Hazel commented. Reyna grunted and adjusted herself on the couch. She looked at her knee and was pleased to find that it did not look as swollen as before.

"Those are the only rules. You need to relax though," Hylla warned. She gave her sister a look that said there would be no arguing on that point. Reyna dramatically rolled her eyes.

"This was on your bed," Hylla said tossing an envelope to Reyna. The younger daughter of Bellona caught it. Reyna could feel the power running through the envelope. She quietly opened it and pulled a card out.

The card was grey on the outside with no words. Reyna suddenly found it hard to swallow. She knew exactly who the card was from. With a barely disguised tremble, Reyna opened the card.

The words looked fuzzy at first, but it slowly became clearer. Reyna was aware of the others waiting patiently. Hylla was standing over her with a frown.

"It's just symbols," Hylla muttered.

"It must be a prank," Reyna said with a shrug. She glanced at the card one last time before she put it away. "Annabeth, can you help me to my room?"

Annabeth nodded and walked towards her. She helped Reyna stand. Reyna hobbled to her room as she leaned heavily on Annabeth.

"Your mother was kind enough to send me a card," Reyna muttered. Annabeth glanced at her. Reyna took a deep breath and stopped walking. She opened the card and read it, "You did a decent job Roman. That will not be your final test. Something big is going to happen."

Reyna handed the card to Annabeth. She rubbed her forehead and sighed. The daughter of Athena examined the card.

"It's just a bunch of symbols," Annabeth reported.

"I'm not going crazy," Reyna promised.

"I think my mother may have done something, so only you could see it," Annabeth offered. Reyna nodded. She closed her eyes and took another deep breath.

"I guess it is up to me to save the world again," Reyna muttered. Annabeth placed a hand on her shoulder.

"You won't have to do it alone," Annabeth promised. Reyna smiled slightly. Annabeth gripped her shoulder. "We should head back to the party. You need a break. Whatever is going to happen will happen. There is no need to worry about it."

"I agree. What movie are we going to watch?" Reyna questioned.

"We were in the middle of a documentary," Annabeth replied as she helped Reyna walk back. Reyna made a face. Annabeth smiled. "I was the one who chose it."

"I guessed," Reyna said. She winced as Annabeth helped her sit on the couch.

"We made a few bags of popcorn," Hazel said as she looked at them. Reyna sat on the couch and leaned on Hylla. Her sister smirked and pulled her close. Reyna laid her head on Hylla's chest. Even after all that had happened, this was one of the best birthdays that Reyna had.

* * *

><p><strong>First off, thank you to everyone who took the time out of their day to read this story. Another big thanks to anyone who followed, favorited, or reviewed.<strong>

**In case anyone is wondering, I do have plans for a sequel to the story.**

**Thank you once again for reading**


	18. Bonus Chapter

**This is two things. A special thank you chapter to everyone who has read this, and a chapter that has some minor hints and groundwork for the sequel. The sequel will be coming out tomorrow. I hope you enjoy.  
><strong>

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><p>"Do you think the storms will get any worse?" Hazel asked. Reyna nodded as she watched the mortals scurry by. Hylla bumped her sister's shoulder. The three had managed to find an outdoor cafe with an awning. It protected them from most of the rain.<p>

"Are Piper and Annabeth going to be here soon?" Hylla wondered impatiently. Reyna nodded again. Her focus was on her knee.

It was two weeks since the rogue Amazons had attacked. Reyna's knee had yet to heal. She had been told it was a mixture of how badly it had been hurt, the Manticore's poison, and how much blood she had lost. It did nothing to make her feel better.

Reyna had only returned to praetor duties the week before. It was hard to keep up the image of terrifying with her limp. There was also the fact that everyone seem to be bothering her about her knee.

Annabeth noticed Reyna's aggravation when she was visiting. That was why she suggested that they go out for a day of fun. Reyna had muttered that they still owed her a movie.

Honestly, Reyna could care less about the movie. She just wanted to get out and do something. Annabeth had nodded at Reyna's suggestion and made plans for the day.

Reyna glanced up at the sky. The storms were getting worse each day. Thunderstorms were a frequent sight. The rain seemed to fall harder as she watched it.

"How is the rebuilding of the Amazons going?" Hazel asked.

"We have more than enough recruits thanks to a deal we made. They just need training," Hylla answered. She almost sounded guilty.

"How much of an eat me signal do you think we're sending up?" Reyna wondered aloud. It was the first words she had said in a long time.

Reyna moved a hand to her knee. The bandage was there taunting her. It was a constant reminder that her mobility was limited. There was also that the fact that Hylla wouldn't allow her to wear any armor.

"We are not sending one up," Hylla responded with a forced smile.

"That's good. I would hate to be attacked without armor," Reyna said. Hazel looked uncomfortable at the tension between the two sisters.

"What movie should we see?" Hazel asked quickly. The two sisters didn't respond. They were glaring at each other. Their faces were inches apart.

Hylla suddenly shoved Reyna down. A blast of fire hit where Reyna had been. She stared for a few moments.

"Drakon," Hylla gasped as she stood. Reyna turned her head and looked into the storm. She stared as she saw the drakon. It had to be at least ten feet long. Beautiful, black scales lined its body.

Reyna stared into the ruby eyes of the drakon. She found herself frozen. Hylla grabbed her and pulled her up. She ended up shoving her younger sister away as the drakon spat a ball of acid at them.

"Don't look into the drakon's eyes," Hazel called as she moved around the side. Reyna painfully stood. She grabbed her sword and flipped it into a javelin.

Hylla took a deep breath and attacked the drakon. She stabbed it with her knife. Her knife bounced off of the scales of the drakon. Hylla visibly winced and dropped her knife.

The drakon spat a ball of fire at Hazel and a ball of acid at Reyna. It turned and slammed its tail into Hylla's chest. The queen of the Amazons flew back and hit a wall. She fell to the ground and didn't move.

Time slowed for Reyna. She ran towards her sister and slid into a table. Reyna pulled her sister behind the table and used it as a shield from the fire of the drakon.

Hylla slowly looked around. Her eyes held a look of confusion. She suddenly grabbed Reyna's arm.

"I'm sorry," Hylla whispered.

"For what?" Reyna asked confused. Hylla opened her mouth to respond. The queen of the Amazons still had her guilty look.

"Reyna," Hazel called.

"Stay here," Reyna whispered to her sister. She peeked around the table. The drakon had turned its attention to Hazel. The daughter of Pluto was holding her own against it.

Reyna stepped out from behind the burned table. She took a moment to aim her javelin. Hazel dove away from the acid that the drakon spit. Reyna whistled.

The drakon turned towards her. It looked annoyed that the prey it was hunting was so spread out. Reyna didn't hesitate to throw her javelin. It hit the drakon in the eye.

The beast roared in pain. Hazel stabbed it in the back. Her sword bounce off of the scales.

"What are the other weak points?" Hazel called.

"Eyes and belly," Reyna answered. Her focus was on the drakon. Her javelin was still impaled into its eyes. The beast only looked angrier.

It lunged at Reyna. She dove to the side. Her knee protested from the sudden movement. It sent a jolt of pain through her body. Reyna turned towards the drakon.

The beast moved fast that she anticipated. It was already lunging again. Reyna hastily dove to the side. She landed hard on her knee.

Hazel attacked the drakon again. She was forced to dodge as it spat acid at her. Reyna tried to stand. Her knee protested by sending more pain through her body. Before Reyna could react, the drakon slammed its tail into her side.

Reyna fell hard to the ground. Breathing suddenly became harder. The younger daughter of Bellona groaned angrily. She really didn't need injured ribs at the moment.

"I left you alone for one minute," Hylla said. She pulled Reyna up and studied her for a moment. "We better go put the beast down."

Reyna nodded in agreement. She felt her ribs. They didn't feel broken. That was good. Her sister gripped her remaining knife.

"Have any ideas?" Reyna questioned. Hylla nodded and ran right at the drakon. It turned towards her. Hylla jumped over its' head and grabbed Reyna's javelin. She tore it out of the drakon's head.

"Can you do that?" Hazel joked. She looked tired.

"Yes," Reyna answered quickly. "Not right now though."

Hazel smirked. She didn't believe Reyna. The praetor focused back on her sister. Hylla stabbed Reyna's javelin into the drakon's throat. It turned to dust and left behind a coat of scales.

"You're bleeding," Hylla commented. Reyna looked down at herself. Blood was starting to show through the bandage on her knee. Hylla tossed Reyna her weapon.

"I'm fine," Reyna promised. She glanced up at the sky. Rain was starting to fall harder. The three of them were already soaked.

"I think you deserve the spoils," Hazel said to Hylla. The queen of the Amazons smirked. Reyna watched them.

A tingle ran down Reyna's spine. She glanced around. There was a flash of lightning that illuminated something in an alley. Reyna tried to call out a warning. It died in her throat as another drakon lunged at them.

Reyna dove to the side. The drakon slammed into where she had been. The drakon quickly turned towards her.

The other drakon had to have been a baby. This was the mother, and it was pissed. The drakon had golden scales, emerald eyes, and long nails. It was at least thirty feet long.

"We are not fighting that," Reyna gasped.

"Run," Hylla agreed. The three took off and ran. The drakon gave chase.

"We should split up," Hazel called.

"Duck into the alley ways," Reyna yelled. She didn't wait for an answer as she ducked into an alley. A roar told her that the drakon had followed. Reyna stopped seeing the alley was a dead end.

Reyna turned back towards the drakon. She gripped her javelin. The beast watched her. If it was possible for a drakon to look angry, this one was.

"Having fun?" a voice wondered. Reyna slowly glanced up. She saw a figure watching her from above. "There's a ladder behind you. Oh, do me a favor and cover your eyes."

Reyna stared as the figure fired an arrow. It hit the ground in front of her. She looked away and heard a loud bang. As Reyna opened her eyes, she saw a bright light coming from the arrow.

The drakon was stunned by the light. Reyna took advantage of that. She ran towards the ladder and quickly climbed it. When she reached the top, the figure pulled her up.

"We should run. The drakon won't be distracted for long," the figure said. The voice was feminine. The girl was wearing a hood that was caused shadows to hide her face.

"That was coincidental that you were here," Reyna commented. She looked around the rooftops. They would need a running start to make it across to a different roof.

"I was following you," the girl admitted. Reyna instantly backed up and flipped her javelin into a sword. The whole building shook as the drakon roared. The girl gave her a look. "If you want answers, you need to follow."

"Who are you?" Reyna demanded. The girl just took off and ran. Reyna cursed and followed.

"I'm Sarah by the way," the girl called. She jumped across the building. Reyna took a running start and jumped across the building. She rolled through the impact.

"Any ideas?" Reyna gasped. Her knee and ribs were aching. Running was not a good idea.

"No," Sarah admitted. She looked around. The drakon roared as it jumped on top of the building near them. Reyna took a deep breath.

"Follow," Reyna ordered. She turned and ran. There was a building not far from them It was a condemned one. They wouldn't be able to make the jump, but there was something else they could do.

At the edge of the building, Reyna stopped. She turned to face the drakon. Sarah scrambled to a stop near her.

"You're crazy," Sarah commented.

"Just follow my lead," Reyna hissed. Sarah nodded once. She grabbed her bow and notched an arrow. Reyna gripped her sword

The drakon stalked towards them. It knew that its prey was trapped. The drakon's muscles tensed, and it lunged.

Reyna dove to the side at the last second. The drakon flew past her and slammed into the building across from them. Reyna slowly turned. The building that the drakon hit was collapsing in on itself.

"That building is going to hit us," Sarah realized.

"Yeah. We should run," Reyna muttered. She turned to run. A roar behind them caused both of them to stop.

"Are you kidding me?" Sarah snapped. She turned around. Reyna also turned. The drakon was slowly crawling onto the building.

Reyna heard a crack and looked down. The roof started to crack. Before Reyna could react, the drakon jumped in between her and Sarah. The roof collapsed underneath their weight.

* * *

><p>It felt like a long time before Reyna woke. The first thing she felt was rain falling on her face. She slowly looked up as she heard voices.<p>

"I have the praetor here," Sarah said.

"I want you to bring her in as soon as you can," a new voice said. Reyna slowly tried to look up. She could see an Iris message. Sarah was standing in front of it, so Reyna could not see who she was talking to.

"What about Hylla? She is around somewhere," Sarah said in a low voice. She looked around. Reyna's eyes darted around. They were outside. Her sword was a few feet away.

"We don't need to worry about her," the voice replied. "The most important thing is that you deliver the praetor."

"Wilco," Sarah promised. She waved a hand through the Iris message and turned towards Reyna.

Reyna kicked Sarah's feet out from under her. She grabbed her sword, flipped it into a javelin, and pressed it against Sarah's neck.

"Who are you?" Reyna demanded.

"I told you that my name was Sarah," the girl replied. She tried to push the javelin away from her neck. Reyna didn't allow her to.

"Who were you talking to?" Reyna demanded.

"I get it. You're all paranoid about me," Sarah began. "I am a friend. I just need you to come with me."

"I have a better idea," Reyna growled. She picked the girl up by her shirt. "You can come back to Camp Jupiter with me. Then, you can tell me why you and that person were talking about my sister."

A growl interrupted the two. Reyna's arms felt weak. She turned towards the growl. The drakon was slowly rising out of the rubble of the building across from them. Its emerald eyes were watching her.

Reyna bit back a groan. It seemed like the drakon was impossible to kill. It watched her with intelligent eyes.

"Bring it," Reyna growled. The drakon stepped forward. Reyna saw a blur of gold slam into the drakon.

Reyna stared as two lions stood in between her and the drakon. The lions were the size of a minivan. The drakon suddenly backed up. The two lions quickly moved towards it.

The drakon fled. The two lions gave pursuit. Reyna could only stare. She felt Sarah struggle to get away from her.

"Praetor," a woman greeted. Reyna turned. She saw a woman walk towards her. The woman had black hair with silver tips and green eyes. She was dressed in battle armor, but she managed to make it seem nonthreatening.

"Who are you?" Reyna demanded.

"Let the girl go," the woman commanded. Reyna could feel the power radiating off of the woman. She reluctantly let go of Sarah.

"What in the world?" Sarah whispered as she watched the woman.

"Leave," the woman ordered Sarah.

"Of course ma'am," Sarah said. She backed up and ran away. The woman turned towards Reyna. She smiled kindly.

Reyna knelt. She had no clue who the woman was. The daughter of Bellona just knew that the woman was powerful.

"Stand," the woman said.

"Who are you?" Reyna wondered as she stood.

"Romans know me as Ops, but I prefer my Greek form of Rhea," the woman replied. Reyna stared at her. The Titaness smiled kindly. "So, you are the one."

"The one?" Reyna questioned.

"Come," Rhea said. She whistled and turned. Her two lions followed but stopped before they passed Reyna. They were her escorts. Since she didn't have a choice, Reyna followed the Titaness

"Did my friends get away?" Reyna asked.

"Yes. They are fine. They met up with the daughter of Aphrodite and Athena," Rhea responded. She continued to keep walking. "As you should know, something big is coming. It is bigger than any of the Olympians believe."

"What am I going to do about it?" Reyna slowly asked.

"Stop it," Rhea replied. She stopped walking and studied Reyna. The Titaness nodded as if satisfied. "That girl you met will lead you to powerful allies or enemies. The result depends on you."

"No pressure," Reyna muttered.

"They wouldn't chose you if you were not ready," Rhea replied.

"They?" Reyna wondered. The Titaness stopped walking. She snapped her fingers. One of the lions moved to her side. Rhea grabbed a necklace from around the lion's neck. She handed it to Reyna.

Reyna slowly examined the leather cord necklace. On the necklace was a black vial. It was the size of a flash drive. It looked like there was a black liquid inside, but it could have been how the glass was painted.

"It cannot break," Rhea promised. "I need you to do me a favor. Do not allow yourself to lost that vial. It is one of the most important things you will ever hold."

"I'll keep it safe," Reyna swore.

"Your path will be hard," Rhea said with a sad smile. "I believe that you can survive. Now, you should get back to your friends. Close your eyes."

Reyna slowly did. She felt the Titaness touch her forehead. Reyna gripped the vial. Everything sounded blurry for a few moments. The hand disappeared from her forehead.

Reyna found herself stumbling. She reached out a hand to catch herself and felt a wall. The daughter of Bellona opened her eyes and looked around. She was in an alleyway with no idea where she was.

"Great," Reyna muttered. She looked down at the necklace. She finally put it on. The vial felt cool even through her shirt. Reyna flipped her javelin into a sword and sheathed it

"There was a building destroyed not far from here. I would guess that is where my sister is," Hylla said. Reyna looked up. The voice wasn't far from where she was.

"We should go there then," Annabeth said. The daughter of Athena sounded out of breath. Reyna walked towards the edge of the alley. She took a deep breath and stepped out of the alley.

The first thing Reyna saw was her four companions standing in a circle. Hylla and Hazel both looked exhausted. Piper and Annabeth had cuts on their faces. They were trying to catch their breath.

Hylla was the first one to notice Reyna. She stared at her younger sister. The other three demigods turned towards her. Hylla rushed her sister and hugged her tightly.

"Ribs," Reyna gasped as her chest ached in protest. Hylla quickly let go.

"You gave me a heart attack," Hylla said. "Don't do it again."

"I'm fine," Reyna promised. She glanced at Annabeth and Piper. "What happened to you two?"

"We were attacked by three baby drakons," Piper replied.

"Anyone hurt," Reyna questioned. Everyone shook their head.

"Did you kill the mother of the drakons?" Hazel wondered.

"No," Reyna answered. She recounted the tale of what had happened. The only thing she left out was Rhea. It didn't feel like the right time to discuss it. "I woke up by myself. The girl, along with the drakon, was gone."

"You said the girl was named Sarah?" Hylla questioned. There was visible nervousness on her face.

"Another rogue Amazon?" Piper questioned.

"No," Hylla answered. All emotion left her face. "She isn't important at the moment. The Amazons will deal with her appropriately."

Reyna watched her sister. Hylla was hiding something. Who was Sarah exactly? And who was the person that she Iris messaged?

"What's that on your neck?" Hazel asked. Reyna looked down and realized she didn't have an excuse. Nothing came to mind.

"It looks like a spoil from the fight. Is it possible that the girl killed the drakon?" Annabeth questioned.

"I found it on the ground," Reyna said taking advantage of the opening. "I already had the necklace in my pocket. I just put the vial on it."

Hylla watched her. It was obvious she didn't believe her. Reyna kept her face emotionless

"The girl could have left it for you," Hazel suggested.

"Why would she do that?" Hylla questioned.

"She could of dropped it," Piper argued.

"We should enjoy the rest of the day while we can," Reyna interrupted. She realized how exhausted she must have looked. It didn't matter. Rhea had told her that something big was going down. When it happened, Reyna got the feeling she wouldn't have a rest for a long time.


End file.
